It’s no surprise that gas prices have gone up, but a look at Licensing and Consumer Affairs’ latest gas price survey, issued Tuesday, shows just how severe the price hike has been.
Nearly a month and a half ago, drivers paid an average price of $3.85 a gallon for self-service regular gas on St. Thomas, which is now up 21 cents a gallon. On St. John, the average price went up 15 cents a gallon from $3.92 for the same pump-it-yourself regular gas. On St. Croix, the average price was up 23 cents a gallon from $3.18 for self-service regular.
The latest survey was done April 8, the day after Hovensa raised its prices by 40 cents a gallon for regular, 43 cents a gallon for premium and 30.5 cents a gallon for diesel, Licensing said in its press release.
As always, St. John drivers pay more for gas. However, the average price for regular self-serve gas was only one cent more than on St. Thomas. The average on St. Thomas was $4.06 a gallon for self-serve regular. On St. John, drivers paid $4.07 for self-serve regular at the island’s only gas station, E&C Service Station.
The price differential was larger for premium, with the average price per gallon running $4.14 on St. Thomas and $4.19 on St. John.
While the cheapest gas on St. Thomas ran $3.90 a gallon for regular at Petrus Gas in Frenchtown, that price was an anomaly. Other stations on St. Thomas charged anywhere from $3.98 to $4.15 a gallon.
And as usual, St. Croix drivers paid the least with the average price for a gallon of regular self-service gas running $3.41 a gallon. The cheapest regular gas was at Five Corners Service Station, where the price ran $3.14 a gallon for self-serve, but St. Croix drivers paid a range of $3.15 to $3.83 a gallon. When it came to premium, the average price ran $3.55 a gallon for self-service.
Of course, it’s almost always cheaper to pump gas yourself but some people prefer to pay a bit more for someone else to do it.
When it comes to having someone do it for you, that isn’t an option on St. John. St. Thomas has six stations in the survey that have attendants. The average price for that service ran $4.16 a gallon for regular and $4.20 for premium. On St. Croix, four stations in the survey have someone available to pump your gas. The average price ran $4.06 for regular and $4.15 for premium.
And diesel was cheapest on St. Croix, with the average price $3.70 a gallon. On St. Thomas, the average price was $4.40 a gallon, and on St. John, $4.44.
While the price of gas on St. John wasn’t that far out of line with the cost on St. Thomas, the cost of propane definitely is. On St. John, customers of the only gas company, Paradise Gas, pay $110 for a 100-pound tank in Cruz Bay and $115 in Coral Bay. There is no discount for seniors such as the one offered by gas companies on the other two islands.
On St. Thomas both Antilles Gas and St. Thomas Gas charge $81 for a 100-pound tank. Seniors on St. Thomas pay $73.
As usual, St. Croix residents pay the least. Antilles Gas and St. Croix Gas charge $78.50 for a 100-pound tank. Seniors pay $70.50.