With a potential U.S.- Iran deal still uncertain, gas prices in California continue to rise leaving many in the East Bay wondering why they are paying the price.
With gas averaging $6 a gallon, according to American Automobile Association, gas prices, I’m feeling frustrated and stretched thin by the cost of a conflict that feels far removed from my daily life. For people who rely on their car for work, every mile matters. About 100,000 people from the East Bay make the commute into San Francisco every day, despite the rising fuel costs and gas.
At the same time, the local Phillips 66 and Valero refineries have closed down, which also ensures that gas prices will rise. So why does a conflict thousands of miles away impact me so deeply?
Because gas prices aren’t just local — they’re tied to a global market where instability anywhere can raise costs everywhere. For drivers like me, the impact is not abstract. It shows up every day. And I don’t feel it only at the pump. One change I have seen is that most people fill up on weekends instead of weekdays. Gas prices drop on Sundays usually in Antioch, so my partner and I fill up then.
Gas prices weigh on me in the mornings, making me stressed over something that is a basic necessity as a driver in California. The price of gas significantly affects how frequently I can venture across the Bay Area; I don’t even commute outside of Antioch for work.
When something as basic as gas becomes unaffordable, it causes financial stress and uncertainty on when life will return to normal.
Owning a car that’s not a hybrid could make it a nightmare to maintain independence. I lose my sense of financial stability when I think about rising gas prices, and I feel a sense of dread every time I start my car when I need to go to work or keep up with my social life.
I hope that this war ends, and we find better long-term solutions to rising gas prices because basic necessities like gas shouldn’t feel out of reach. To fix the problem, we as a nation should leave Iran to their devices. We are already in trillions dollars of debt, so why does it matter to stick our noses in their business?
