This won't come as news to anyone who drives a motor vehicle, but for the record: Gas prices have gone up for the third straight month on St. Thomas and St. John.
The Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, which surveys prices monthly, reports that the lowest price found on St. Thomas for self-serve, regular gas was $1.55 in August, $1.62 in September and $1.71 this month. That compares with 96 cents currently on St. Croix, by the way.
On St. John, which has only full-serve stations, the lowest rate found for October was $1.78.
In the October survey, the highest rate found on St. Thomas was $1.93, topped territorywide only by $1.99 on St. John.
According to LCA, retailers have increased the pump rate by 5 to 10 cents a gallon in the last month, while wholesalers have hiked their prices 5 to 8 cents.
"The department is urging consumers to patronize service stations with the least-expensive price for gasoline," an LCA release states. For St. Thomas, it cited the "best buys" as Texaco Bovoni for regular, self-service ($1.71); Texaco Bovoni and Fast Stop for premium, self-service (both $1.82); Domino's Contant, Barbel Plaza and Sugar Estate stations for regular, full-service (all $1.70); and the same three Domino stations for premium, full-service (all $1.80).