Aug 6, 2008 6:26 am US/Eastern
OUTRAGE: Crude Plummets; NYC Gas Prices Stay Same
Expert Says Greed Is Clearly Driving Force Behind Some Of The Highest Prices In The Country
NYC At $4.26, While Other Major Cities Well Below $4
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Oil prices sank as low as $118 a barrel on Tuesday, down about $30 from the high set last month.
But New York City drivers continue to feel the pain at the pump.
The average price of gas in NYC on Tuesday was $4.26, compared to $4.09 in Connecticut and $3.83 in New Jersey.
CBS 2 HD has found out why and you won't like the reason.
"I'm just incensed. It's just unbelievable," said East Meadow resident Mel Byalick.
"It's crazy. It's crazy. It's too high, so expensive," added Veronica Urgiggilez of Sunnyside.
"I don't understand it," Rene Bluestone of Manhattan admitted. "I don't think anybody does."
What these drivers don't understand is why – when the price of crude oil is plummeting – pump prices in New York remain so high.
And they are high.
The average price for a gallon in Dallas on Monday was $3.72. It was $3.81 in Philadelphia, $3.87 in Boston and $3.92 in Miami. Yet, there was New York at well over $4.
"That's why I moved to Virginia about 10 years ago, because the cost here in New York," said Robert Kelly of Virginia Beach, Va. "I guess you're just paying extra because you're a New Yorker."
So why do we pay more?
"We certainly can't discount getting a little extra profit," said Robert Sinclair of AAA New York.
That's right. Sinclair says good old fashioned greed is one factor in our high pump prices.
"We saw in the second quarter that Exxon Mobil made nearly $12 billion in profits, so certainly there's some profit built into this and even at the refinery level, the distributor level, they're making money and maybe the retailer is trying to break off a little bit for themselves as well," Sinclair said.
Another factor keeping our prices up is supply and demand. New York City alone has 1.8 million drivers who show no signs of slowing down.
"We, the public, haven't cut back our driving. That's the craziest thing," Byalick said.
"I don't have any choice but to keep buying gas because I need it," Candice Wexler of Sagaponic.
There is also the little matter of taxes. New Yorkers pay eight gas taxes totaling about 70 cents per gallon, and Gov. David Paterson says he's not going to lower any of the state fees.
"Reducing the taxes makes no assurance to the public that that would be passed along to the consumer," Paterson said.
Paterson says the only way he would consider lowering taxes is if all the petroleum company executives gave him a sworn statement promising to pass tax relief on to the customer.
And the chances of that are pretty slim.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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