New Jersey Turnpike

[vdeane]

Last I checked, NJ gas was dirt cheap.

My interpretation of this is that the average motorist spent most of their driving career with gasoline prices under $1.50/gallon.  $3.50 still stings, and politicians hear about it when they talk about raising it higher.

Gas has pretty much stayed above $3/gallon here in upstate NY ever since Hurricane Katrina - in other words, ever since I entered high school.  Even the media hoopla that happened when gas initially hit $2/gallon is but a distant childhood memory.  Gas has been above $1.50/gallon for as long as I can remember.

Last I checked, NJ gas was dirt cheap.

My interpretation of this is that the average motorist spent most of their driving career with gasoline prices under $1.50/gallon.  $3.50 still stings, and politicians hear about it when they talk about raising it higher.

People neglect inflation and don't think long term.

Take a look at this. Gas prices in the 80s and 90s were lower than any other time in the past hundred years. Indeed, they are the only time the price has ever been under $2/gallon in 2013 dollars. It seems considerably less painful if you look at the red line on that graph.


You are right, though. Perception unfortunately is more important than reality and in most people's minds gas has gotten insanely expensive compared to what they grew up expecting it to be. For New Jersey their second-lowest in the nation gas tax is an especially sacred cow and the current administration has done some insane and possibly illegal cartwheels to avoid having to raise it. It's not just NJTA that's been used as a piggy bank, it's the Port Authority as well (the current subject of an investigation against the governor), and the reason why the ARC tunnel was cancelled.

Eventually NJ is going to have to wake up and raise their gas tax, or find some other way to raise dedicated revenue for transportation. They already have the nation's lowest per capita state highway mileage, they can't well shed more costs.

People also tend to neglect to realize inflation exists when their paychecks are static.

[Pete from Boston]

Last I checked, NJ gas was dirt cheap.

My interpretation of this is that the average motorist spent most of their driving career with gasoline prices under $1.50/gallon.  $3.50 still stings, and politicians hear about it when they talk about raising it higher.

Gas has pretty much stayed above $3/gallon here in upstate NY ever since Hurricane Katrina - in other words, ever since I entered high school.  Even the media hoopla that happened when gas initially hit $2/gallon is but a distant childhood memory.  Gas has been above $1.50/gallon for as long as I can remember.

I recall in the fall of 2004 when the price of gas (this is in New York State, so higher than New Jersey) shot up to $1.80/gallon.  Prior to this, $1.50 in New Jersey was not uncommon.*  In the late 1990s, in fact, prices under $1.00 popped up on occasion, and it was noteworthy but not shocking, given our expectations.

It's safe to say that most drivers have been driving longer than ten years, so most have the memory of the pain of the transition from that to the current price range. 

So I guess be thankful this is normal to you.  I went from paying about $18 to fill the tank to about $55 in just a handful of years.  It was vastly different to be interested in exploring roads in those days.



* I still dream a little of a return to December, 2008, when prices dropped from over $3 to under $1.20 in New Jersey before climbing back up.

[PHLBOS]

Bold emphasis added:

Last I checked, NJ gas was dirt cheap.

My interpretation of this is that the average motorist spent most of their driving career with gasoline prices under $1.50/gallon.  $3.50 still stings, and politicians hear about it when they talk about raising it higher.

Gas has pretty much stayed above $3/gallon here in upstate NY ever since Hurricane Katrina - in other words, ever since I entered high school.  Even the media hoopla that happened when gas initially hit $2/gallon is but a distant childhood memory.  Gas has been above $1.50/gallon for as long as I can remember.

I recall in the fall of 2004 when the price of gas (this is in New York State, so higher than New Jersey) shot up to $1.80/gallon.  Prior to this, $1.50 in New Jersey was not uncommon.*  In the late 1990s, in fact, prices under $1.00 popped up on occasion, and it was noteworthy but not shocking, given our expectations.

It's safe to say that most drivers have been driving longer than ten years, so most have the memory of the pain of the transition from that to the current price range. 

So I guess be thankful this is normal to you.  I went from paying about $18 to fill the tank to about $55 in just a handful of years.  It was vastly different to be interested in exploring roads in those days.



* I still dream a little of a return to December, 2008, when prices dropped from over $3 to under $1.20 in New Jersey before climbing back up.

Hear Hear. 

Actually in Southeastern PA, prices dropped to about $1.70-$1.80 in late 2008.  While prices in NJ have always been lower than neighboring PA, that $1.20 reference I think's an exaggeration even for then.  I still have some old gas credit card receipts for my winter travels to/from New England back then at home (I keep credit card receipts up to 7 years before shredding them) and can confirm/correct tomorrow if need be.

[Pete from Boston]

Bold emphasis added:

Last I checked, NJ gas was dirt cheap.

My interpretation of this is that the average motorist spent most of their driving career with gasoline prices under $1.50/gallon.  $3.50 still stings, and politicians hear about it when they talk about raising it higher.

Gas has pretty much stayed above $3/gallon here in upstate NY ever since Hurricane Katrina - in other words, ever since I entered high school.  Even the media hoopla that happened when gas initially hit $2/gallon is but a distant childhood memory.  Gas has been above $1.50/gallon for as long as I can remember.

I recall in the fall of 2004 when the price of gas (this is in New York State, so higher than New Jersey) shot up to $1.80/gallon.  Prior to this, $1.50 in New Jersey was not uncommon.*  In the late 1990s, in fact, prices under $1.00 popped up on occasion, and it was noteworthy but not shocking, given our expectations.

It's safe to say that most drivers have been driving longer than ten years, so most have the memory of the pain of the transition from that to the current price range. 

So I guess be thankful this is normal to you.  I went from paying about $18 to fill the tank to about $55 in just a handful of years.  It was vastly different to be interested in exploring roads in those days.



* I still dream a little of a return to December, 2008, when prices dropped from over $3 to under $1.20 in New Jersey before climbing back up.

Hear Hear. 

Actually in Southeastern PA, prices dropped to about $1.70-$1.80 in late 2008.  While prices in NJ have always been lower than neighboring PA, that $1.20 reference I think's an exaggeration even for then.  I still have some old gas credit card receipts for my winter travels to/from New England back then at home (I keep credit card receipts up to 7 years before shredding them) and can confirm/correct tomorrow if need be.

I paid something like $1.17 at a Delta in Bergen County.  Aside from bridge/tunnel price wars, the cheapest gas in the state tends to be well south of there, below the Raritan.  Extrapolate as you see fit.  Either way, the shit was cheap.

During that time, the cheapest gas I encountered in Massachusetts was around the Auburn/Oxford line, where Wal-Mart had started selling gas and began a price war with the Cumberland Farms across the street.  Those two got at least down into the $1.40s that month.  Sadly, Wal-Mart's gas station has since closed, and prices there are again like prices everywhere else. 

[cpzilliacus]

During that time, the cheapest gas I encountered in Massachusetts was around the Auburn/Oxford line, where Wal-Mart had started selling gas and began a price war with the Cumberland Farms across the street.  Those two got at least down into the $1.40s that month.  Sadly, Wal-Mart's gas station has since closed, and prices there are again like prices everywhere else.

Is there a Sam's Club that sells gasoline (and sometimes Diesel) nearby?

Sam's usually has pretty decent prices on fuel (though I don't know if they "drive down" the prices at nearby places that sell fuel).

[NJRoadfan]

Actually in Southeastern PA, prices dropped to about $1.70-$1.80 in late 2008.  While prices in NJ have always been lower than neighboring PA, that $1.20 reference I think's an exaggeration even for then.  I still have some old gas credit card receipts for my winter travels to/from New England back then at home (I keep credit card receipts up to 7 years before shredding them) and can confirm/correct tomorrow if need be.

It went as low as $1.29/gal in these parts. Prices are usually a few cents lower in the Philly area of South Jersey, so its possible.

[storm2k]

Actually in Southeastern PA, prices dropped to about $1.70-$1.80 in late 2008.  While prices in NJ have always been lower than neighboring PA, that $1.20 reference I think's an exaggeration even for then.  I still have some old gas credit card receipts for my winter travels to/from New England back then at home (I keep credit card receipts up to 7 years before shredding them) and can confirm/correct tomorrow if need be.

It went as low as $1.29/gal in these parts. Prices are usually a few cents lower in the Philly area of South Jersey, so its possible.

I remember that wonderful yet brief time in late '08 when gas in Jersey went back to 1.30 or so a gallon. It was superb.

[Duke87]

Gas has pretty much stayed above $3/gallon here in upstate NY ever since Hurricane Katrina - in other words, ever since I entered high school.  Even the media hoopla that happened when gas initially hit $2/gallon is but a distant childhood memory.  Gas has been above $1.50/gallon for as long as I can remember.

I am probably guilty of having paid attention to this from a much younger age than is normal, but I remember things like my father pulling into a Hess station near Strasburg, PA in 1993 (age 5) and pulling out immediately because the prices were ridiculous. The ridiculous price was $1.89 for 89 octane (which our car at the time demanded). Side note: we had also already had to bypass a couple of gas stations because my parents were low on cash and those stations neither had an ATM nor accepted any form of plastic payment (which in those days was not ubiquitous as it is today, especially not in rural areas).

I remember seeing gasoline for 93 cents a gallon at a Gulf station on route 7 in northern Delaware in the late 90s (age ~10), and several other stations in the area that were under a dollar as well.

I also remember first playing Streets of Simcity in the late 90s and commenting that gas in the game was expensive. Their price: $2 per gallon

I remember when gas first went above $2 per gallon (age 15) assuming it was a temporary spike caused by oil fields in Iraq being set on fire and that it would drop when that war ended (which I assumed would be in a few months because surely America could crush such a puny country quickly... hey, this is why 15 year olds don't vote ).

I remember seeing prices break $3 per gallon after Katrina (age 17) and feeling sorry for all the people who had cars and were driving them around, thinking "wow, these gas prices must be making them go broke".

When prices broke $4 per gallon in 2008 (age 20) I was aware enough of what going on to realize that it was a speculative bubble and that it would pop, but being quite stressed out over it nonetheless since while it didn't impact me personally I still saw it as a brick in the backpack of the economy that was worth being concerned about.


Nonetheless, by the time I got my own car in the summer of 2009 (age 21) and was for the first time in my life paying for gasoline out of my own pocket, gas being multiple dollars per gallon was normal and I simply budgeted in my mind accordingly. I may vividly remember gas prices being a third of what they are now but I don't have any internal concept of what it's like to actually pay those prices.

Besides, what I spend in a year on gas is still less than what I spend in a year on food, and much less than what I spend in a year on rent. So y'know what, in the greater scheme of things gas prices really aren't a huge issue for me, and they are not impacting my ability to afford driving places.

[jeffandnicole]

After I started my job, I remember a Wawa opened up near Six Flags Great Adventure in 1999 or 2000, and Wawa being relatively new to the convenience store gas station concept, put on a mini price war with the only other gas station in that area.  I recall gas prices as low as 69 cents a gallon!  At the time, Wawa was known for their cheap gas. Today, some people swear they still have the cheapest gas, but clearly those people are blind as to other nearby station's prices. In some cases, their gas prices can even be quite high. The biggest advantage today though is they refuse to do the separate cash/credit pricing thing.

In 2001 or 2002, I started looking at doing the carpool thing, as my commute was 41 miles each way.  Gas was getting pricey as well...at nearly $1.50 a gallon!  As much as the other guys annoy me, I'm in that same carpool today that I was in 12 or so years ago.  Considering I normally drive once, maybe twice a week rather than 5, it's saved a lot of money in gas and car maintenance.  Ironically, one guy in the carpool has the same last name as me and lives on the other side of my neighborhood, but otherwise no relation. 

[PHLBOS]

Found a couple of Sunoco gas credit card receipts from late Dec. 2008 (prices for 87 Octane gas).

12/20/08 Sunoco along NJ 73 in Marlton: $1.499

12/31/08 Sunoco in Aldan, PA (not too far from where I live): $1.659

[roadman65]

You know its funny you all should bring up what gas was a few years back as recently I have found old receipts of my own from way back in 95 with me filling up my tank for only $12.01.  Now its over $70 for a tank fill up.

Then a friend of mine posted something on his facebook page of how gas went from average $1.89 a gallon in 08 to now $3.69 average.  It was an add bashing one nameless individual, but it is so odd that all these things are happening at once.

[1995hoo]

Lowest price I remember since I've been old enough to drive was 73¢ a gallon in July 1998. When I got my license in 1989 it was around 99¢ a gallon. (Both prices for 87 octane. If you asked me the price now, I'd give you the price for 93 because two of our cars specify premium and the other car doesn't get filled up very often.)

[PHLBOS]

The lowest price, after getting my driver's license in 1982, I remember seeing was $0.62/gallon for Regular Leaded (such was still on the market back then) in Swansea, MA circa 1986.

[roadman65]

I remember when traveling in 97-98 when FL had it at 93 cents a gallon, but Augusta, GA it was 89 cents a gallon there.  Georgia back in the 90's was always cheaper than Florida.

[bzakharin]

I remember a a kid when the normal price of gas in NJ was in the 90s with 99 cents being the mark of expensive gas stations. It was like this for a long time too, maybe a decade. As prices fluctuated, there were more or fewer stations that charged 99 cents per gallon, and the cheap ones went as far down as the low 70s sometimes if memory serves, but there were always stations that charged 99 and never more than that. Except once you crossed into Pennsylvania and then there was nothing *below* 99 cents it seems.

There were also expensive brands (Mobil, Exxon, Sunoco) and cheap brands (Citgo, Amoco, local no-name stations), and this was pretty consistent geographically. They all proudly proclaimed "cash or credit same price!" even though nobody ever charged more for credit. I recall there being a lone full service Mobil in Northeast Philadelphia that proudly announced "We pump your gas! Same Price!" which charged 99 cents. I was impressed by that, first because they had full service, and second because it was a Mobil, so this was the price you often payed if you went to a Mobil in NJ (which of course had full service just like everything else in NJ).

Now the brand/price correlation is much weaker, though it's still somewhat there. In later years Mobil had some of the cheapest gas stations even before it was locally replaced by Lukoil and Valero, cash only, of course. The cheapest credit card prices are still with Citgo, but also with those attached to convenience stores like Wawa.

[spooky]

The lowest price, after getting my driver's license in 1982, I remember seeing was $0.62/gallon for Regular Leaded (such was still on the market back then) in Swansea, MA circa 1986.

I still say "fill it up with regular unleaded" when I go to a full serve station, because I remember when the three grades on the price sign were Regular, Unleaded, and Super Unleaded.

[1995hoo]

The lowest price, after getting my driver's license in 1982, I remember seeing was $0.62/gallon for Regular Leaded (such was still on the market back then) in Swansea, MA circa 1986.

I still say "fill it up with regular unleaded" when I go to a full serve station, because I remember when the three grades on the price sign were Regular, Unleaded, and Super Unleaded.

I was somewhat amused last month to see a lot of billboards on I-75 in Georgia listing the price per gallon simply for "unleaded." Not "regular unleaded," just plain old "unleaded." The billboards didn't look like old ones that would have survived from the leaded-gas days, either.

I seem to recall in the DC area leaded gas was already gone by 1989 and the middle grade (89 octane) was introduced because it was claimed it would work in cars that took leaded gas because it was the same octane rating as the typical leaded gas had been, though of course that ignored the fact that said cars didn't have the catalytic converter required and so typically needed a lead additive as well.

Regarding the comment bzakharin makes about "cash or credit same price," I gather from your post this was in the 1990s. When I first got my license in 1989, it was pretty standard in the DC area for most gas stations to charge more for credit, typically about 5¢ per gallon more, and it seemed to be the norm pretty much everywhere we ever drove. I seem to remember it started changing in the mid- to late 1990s, but it didn't change everywhere at once. I wouldn't be surprised that even if all the stations in your area didn't charge more for credit, they still advertised "same price" because of out-of-area drivers who might not expect that. (Nowadays charging extra for credit seems to be the norm in South Carolina. Every time we drive to Florida I wind up stopping for gas somewhere in South Carolina and it always winds up costing extra for the credit transaction.)

The Exxon stations around here always used to have the price display topped with the word "Self" on the left (you paid more for full serve when it was still offered) and the word "Cash" in yellow characters on the right (because you paid more for credit).



Now, as long as we're talking about expensive gas versus cheap gas, check out the answers these guys gave on Family Feud:

[bzakharin]

Regarding the comment bzakharin makes about "cash or credit same price," I gather from your post this was in the 1990s. When I first got my license in 1989, it was pretty standard in the DC area for most gas stations to charge more for credit, typically about 5¢ per gallon more, and it seemed to be the norm pretty much everywhere we ever drove. I seem to remember it started changing in the mid- to late 1990s, but it didn't change everywhere at once. I wouldn't be surprised that even if all the stations in your area didn't charge more for credit, they still advertised "same price" because of out-of-area drivers who might not expect that. (Nowadays charging extra for credit seems to be the norm in South Carolina. Every time we drive to Florida I wind up stopping for gas somewhere in South Carolina and it always winds up costing extra for the credit transaction.)

The Exxon stations around here always used to have the price display topped with the word "Self" on the left (you paid more for full serve when it was still offered) and the word "Cash" in yellow characters on the right (because you paid more for credit).

Yes, I am talking about the 90s. I wonder what lead to the fall of the cash/credit price difference and its subsequent rise. It's not universal even today. The Cleveland area, for example very rarely has any difference and when it does, it's only a few cents. New Jersey routinely has 10 cents or more difference in many places.

[jeffandnicole]

I saw one station on US 130 once with a cash/credit price difference of a penny!  I don't get up that way often, so next time I do I'll have to see if it holds true.

[PHLBOS]

I still say "fill it up with regular unleaded" when I go to a full serve station, because I remember when the three grades on the price sign were Regular, Unleaded, and Super Unleaded.

Although I was too young to drive at the time, I still remember when the 3 gas choices were Regular, Unleaded (then at 89 Octane) and Premium (Leaded) aka High-Test.

[spooky]

I still say "fill it up with regular unleaded" when I go to a full serve station, because I remember when the three grades on the price sign were Regular, Unleaded, and Super Unleaded.

Although I was too young to drive at the time, I still remember when the 3 gas choices were Regular, Unleaded (then at 89 Octane) and Premium (Leaded) aka High-Test.

Was the high-test leaded? I wasn't sure about that one.  I also remember the Sunoco stations that had the dial with 5 or 6 different types.

[PHLBOS]

Was the high-test leaded? I wasn't sure about that one.  I also remember the Sunoco stations that had the dial with 5 or 6 different types.

During the late 70s (possibly even the very early 80s) and back, you better believe it was. 

Sunocos alreadys had several different grades (the old-style pumps indeed had a round knob that one would turn to set towards the desired type), including a lower than normal regular grade.  The only difference between now and then was that the various grades used to be all leaded.

[jeffandnicole]

When I was in Elkton, MD for the first time, they also sold racing fuel there!  That's a grade you don't see on the NJ Turnpike!!!

[PHLBOS]

When I was in Elkton, MD for the first time, they also sold racing fuel there!  That's a grade you don't see on the NJ Turnpike!!!

That's largely because there's a racetrack not too far away (Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, MD). 

IIRC, one used to be able to get higher octane fuel than what was offered elsewhere at some airport gas stations.

[bzakharin]

Was the high-test leaded? I wasn't sure about that one.  I also remember the Sunoco stations that had the dial with 5 or 6 different types.

During the late 70s (possibly even the very early 80s) and back, you better believe it was. 

Sunocos alreadys had several different grades (the old-style pumps indeed had a round knob that one would turn to set towards the desired type), including a lower than normal regular grade.  The only difference between now and then was that the various grades used to be all leaded.

I've heard about that, but by the time I remember, regular was the same as everywhere else, but there was economy (86 I think)