DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit drivers say rising gas prices are forcing them to make difficult choices about how they spend their money, with some cutting back on groceries and other essentials to keep their tanks full.
"I will be on E before I get some gas for 4.99 from downtown," driver Teandra said.
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According to AAA, gas prices across the state are averaging $4.30 a gallon. Prices have spiked more than 25 cents in just the past week, and the average price is nearly 20 cents higher than it was at this time last year.
For drivers filling up every week, that extra cost adds up fast.
Naisha Wells lives in Detroit but makes the roughly 40- to 45-minute drive to Ann Arbor regularly to visit her 37-week-old daughter, True Miracle, who has been living in the neonatal intensive care unit.
"Ann Arbor from here is like 40, 45 minutes, so like financially throughout the week, I'm spending at least four (hundred) or 500 just on gas to get back and forth," Wells said.
When asked whether those costs had forced her to cut back in other areas, Wells said yes.
"Yeah. I mean, because OK, like with work and like bills and stuff, sometimes, I have to call in and say 'hey, I can't pay my credit card until this Friday till I get paid because I got to get gas to go see my baby,' and I had my baby in June,'" she said. "This is like a slap and a blow to the gut."
Other drivers echoed that sentiment. Driver Vincent Jamison said the rising prices have turned routine decisions into difficult trade-offs.
"I can't make a conscious decision on what I want. Is it the gas or buy another loaf of bread?" Jamison said.
Gas prices typically drop heading into the winter months as stations switch to a winter blend. But drivers said they are not expecting relief this year.
"I know it's gonna be a lot harder because of the snow. It's gonna be a struggle," Jamison said.
The war in the Middle East continues to put pressure on oil prices. Despite the typical seasonal trend of falling prices, metro Detroit drivers are instead seeing prices rise.
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