For drivers with a short memory, the recent spike in gas prices could be troubling.
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But compared to last summer's headline-grabbing $4-a-gallon gas, this recent jump of almost 20 cents doesn't seem so bad.
And it's also pretty typical.
"What we're seeing at the gasoline pump is nothing out of the normal," said Stephen Schork, publisher of The Schork Report, which tracks the energy and shipping markets.
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Lancaster County today was $2.23 — 18 cents more than a month ago, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
Schork, said prices usually rise this time of year as we head toward the summer driving season, when more people hit the road for vacations.
A rule of thumb, he said, is that drivers can count on paying more for gas on Memorial Day then they do on July Fourth, as prices ease later in the summer.
Schork said he expects prices to continue to rise for the next several weeks, topping out around $2.50 a gallon by the end of this month.
"Regardless of the economy, there is going to be a pickup in demand," he said.
A year ago, the average price of a gallon of gas was $3.68, which topped out at $4.01 on July 17. From there, prices fell dramatically, dipping below $1.70 a gallon.
But since the beginning of the year, prices have risen steadily, surging in the last couple of weeks.
"When they jump 10 cents at a time, it is a little shocking," said Brian Weaver, 52, of Mountville, who was filling up this morning at the Sunoco station in Centerville, where a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $2.25.
Weaver, who recently lost his job repairing farm equipment, said he seemed to remember paying a lot less just days ago.
Nevertheless, Weaver said the current gas prices probably won't curb driving habits in the coming months the way they did last summer.
"Last year a lot of people couldn't travel because of gas prices. ... We didn't do near the traveling last summer," he said.
Lindsey Wiley, a 32-year-old Lancaster resident who works for an insurance company, said last year's high gas prices forced her to do more carpooling, especially for trips to the beach.
"It did seem like we were driving less," Wiley said as she pumped gas at the Sunoco this morning.
But this summer, carpooling isn't as high a priority, she said.
Michael Connelley, 41, of Lancaster, said he postponed some trips last year, but doesn't plan to cut back this summer. Connelley, who works for R.R. Donnelley, figures the lower prices this summer will make it more affordable to take some extra day trips.
Staff writer Chad Umble can be reached at cumble@LNPnews.com or 481-6031.
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