Gas prices in certain areas of Florida have surged above $2.70 for an average gallon of regular. At some stations, the prices are much higher. Although local officials have taken steps to stop stations which have tried to raise prices well above the market, the supply of gas into the state has dwindled which could make these government efforts less than effective.
Based on a GasBuddy analysis, the price of an average gallon of regular in Miami is $2.77. That is close to what the price is in huge metro areas which include Chicago and Long Island. The price in Gainesville FL is $2.72. In Sarasota and Orlando, it is $2.71.
Florida’s gas price problem is worsened by the states high gas taxes and levies, which include the federal excise tax. Taken together, the total is $.552 a gallon against a national average of $.5. The lowest rate in the country is Alaska at $.307
According to CNNMoney, gas prices are not the only problem for motorists. The news organization reports:
Florida’s gas shortages keep getting worse as millions of motorists flee Hurricane Irma’s path of destruction.
Nearly 65% of all gas stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market were without fuel on Saturday, according to estimates from crowdsourcing platform GasBuddy.
More than half of the stations in the West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce and Fort Myers-Naples areas have run dry. In the Tampa-St. Petersburg market, 43.5% of stations are out of gas.
That report was from a day ago. The problem has to have worsened since.
Another factor in the calculus about Florida gas prices and availability is the destruction of gas stations, which could take days or longer to open. Hundreds of stations in the hardest hit areas could be shuttered indefinitely as construction crews try to triage all of the infrastructure, home, and commercial damage.
The gas price problem in Florida is not over, and to it add gas availability.
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