Why are Pittsburgh's Gas Prices Still so High? (Philadelphia, Erie: neighborhood, to buy)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by doo dah

How much is gas at that station on Fifth, across from the plasma center? "Last gas before downtown"? This site says $3.96 for regular.

Why is it that gas prices are higher in low-income areas? Well, I know, actually.

I was heading down North Negley Avenue from Highland Park the other evening and was going to stop for gas at the Sunoco just before Penn Avenue. The gas price there, if I'm not mistaken, was still around $3.50/gallon, so, of course, I went to the GetGo in Shadyside instead and still overpaid for gas---albeit by not such a gross margin.

I've also noticed gas prices are highest in poor urban neighborhoods and cheapest in wealthier outlying suburban areas---at least in Greater Pittsburgh. This dichotomy is morally reprehensible as those who are paying the most are those who can LEAST afford to be burdened by higher transportation costs while those who pay the least are already pulling up to the pump with $30,000 vehicles.

[gg]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

This further befuddles me then since those places are all well within Allegheny County's boundaries. Why would gas prices be $0.25/gallon cheaper, on average

Speedway in Oakmont is new, so they are undercutting others at this time to gain market. Other gas stations in the area are aware and want to make sure they don't lose business long term, so they cut their pieces as well. Our state has high gas prices. Always did.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by sealie

SCR, why don't you google first and confirm that no local media outlet has done investigative reporting on this?
I didn't say a thing about them being .25 cheaper on average. I gave you the outliers. The price is settling around 3.30 for the most part.

WTAE did do a story in April that documented why PENNSYLVANIA'S gas was so expensive---not Pittsburgh's RELATIVE to Pennsylvania as a whole, which is a topic I couldn't locate.

Why are Gas Prices So High in Pennsylvania? | Local News - WTAE Home

Their report just stated that PA's state gas tax is among the nation's highest, hence why we pay so much more than people in OH or WV, for example. With that being said PennDOT also wanted to reinforce that we pay so much for gas in order to have such great roads and transit infrastructure. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I'm still dodging potholes; seeing relatively recently repaved road surfaces buckling and cracking; driving over bridges that were functionally obsolete decades ago; etc.; so where is our money going?

If we're paying higher gas prices in PA to have our excellent roads (dubious), then that still doesn't explain why we're paying more in Pittsburgh than the rest of PA for our gas. As I said that special "urban" blend is no longer being used, so you can't attribute Pittsburgh's high gas prices to that, either.

[captainmidnight]

Lots of Speedways coming in our area now, especially in Southeast Allegheny County. They are going hard after Sheetz/Get Go. Maybe this will bring some kind of price war but I doubt it. We'll probably never know the full honest answer(s) about why we have such higher prices.

It is interesting looking at the "Average Regular Gas Price By US City" list and scrolling towards the bottom: USA and Canada Current Average Gas Prices By City/State/Province - GasBuddy.com

The only cities with a higher price than Pittsburgh are either on the west coast, NYC, or in the uber expensive (but really nice roads) Connecticut. At least we have a lower price than Boise, Idaho!

[Geeo]

The gas tax money is going toward roads or bridges maintained by the state. So any city or county-owned and maintained roads/bridges aren't going to see funding from that. It's also why there has been so much construction on the parkways and state roads this summer. People complain when they're not fixed, and then they complain when they are being fixed because it's an inconvenience. Can't win.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

PA's gas taxes are the 5th highest in the US for gasoline and 2nd highest for diesel: Fuel taxes in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here are all of the state roads in our county: List of State Routes in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The state owns 4,200 structurally deficient bridges: PennDOT offering private sector a partnership to fix bridges - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

So why aren't our super high gas taxes creating quality state roads and bridges? Because PennDOT.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Geeo

The gas tax money is going toward roads or bridges maintained by the state. So any city or county-owned and maintained roads/bridges aren't going to see funding from that. It's also why there has been so much construction on the parkways and state roads this summer. People complain when they're not fixed, and then they complain when they are being fixed because it's an inconvenience. Can't win.

Here is the list of state owned bridges in the county and a very large list of these are structurally deficient:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...rive_web#gid=0

I know blame shifting is popular when it comes to political matters, but it can be clearly seen that high gas taxes imposed by the state are not going properly going to fix local bridges.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

PA's gas taxes are the 5th highest in the US for gasoline and 2nd highest for diesel: Fuel taxes in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here are all of the state roads in our county: List of State Routes in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The state owns 4,200 structurally deficient bridges: PennDOT offering private sector a partnership to fix bridges - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

So why aren't our super high gas taxes creating quality state roads and bridges? Because PennDOT.

The gas tax was just raised on 1/1/14, so the there has not been enough time to complete the process of gathering the tax, designing the projects, and then actually work on them. The old tax amount wasn't enough to even maintain, nonetheless improve the existing infrastructure. I believe this increased tax amount though has increased the budget by some 40%, and we have already been given a listing of the projects that should be coming on-line soon (including rehab of the Liberty Bridge).

It takes some time people, the roads didn't fall apart over night, and they wont be fixed overnight either.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

The gas tax was just raised on 1/1/14, so the there has not been enough time to complete the process of gathering the tax, designing the projects, and then actually work on them. The old tax amount wasn't enough to even maintain, nonetheless improve the existing infrastructure. I believe this increased tax amount though has increased the budget by some 40%, and we have already been given a listing of the projects that should be coming on-line soon (including rehab of the Liberty Bridge).

It takes some time people, the roads didn't fall apart over night, and they wont be fixed overnight either.

Here is a map of state gas taxes in 2013 (right before the large increase):

http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfo.../Gas-Taxes.png

As you can see PA was still in the upper echelon of gas taxes before the increase went into place. I'm not buying the "not enough time" excuse.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Here is a map of state gas taxes in 2013 (right before the large increase):

http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfo.../Gas-Taxes.png

As you can see PA was still in the upper echelon of gas taxes before the increase went into place. I'm not buying the "not enough time" excuse.

All the tax increases are a byproduct of crazy military spending. Nothing anyone can do about it. It will just keep continuing due to the fear campaign. It is what it is.