May 15, 2008 9:16 am US/Eastern
Mass. Drivers Slammed By Soaring Gas Prices
NEWTON (WBZ) ―
The peak hasn't even hit yet and the price of gas has already surpassed the worst estimates government officials had feared for this spring.
And it's commuters who are feeling the pinch on a daily basis, especially those who work in the city but live in the outer suburbs.
We took a ride Wednesday with one man as he battled the evening rush hour from Medford to his home in the North Shore town of Byfield. It's about 35 miles each way.
"When we bought the house, gas was $1.20," said Alan DeAngelo, a father of four.
When we stopped to fill up, we watched as the numbers on the pump scrolled up to $60. Fortunately, he has a small, fuel efficient car that gets 27 miles to the gallon.
When we crunched the numbers, we figured out his daily commute costs about $10 in gas. Weekly, it's about $50. Over the course of a year, it's $2,450, which is $450 more than last year.
"You don't think of it. You don't notice what you're spending," said DeAngelo.
He, like many commuters, is caught in a predicament: he needs gas to get to work, and he has to work to pay for the gas. "Got to go to work!"
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