Waiting a lot to save a little on gas
By ELAINE ROSE Staff Writer, 609-272-7215
Published: Friday, April 25, 2008
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/141926.html

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - People will do almost anything when they get a whiff of a bargain. They'll drive miles out of their way, wait in line for as long as an hour, even risk getting into a fistfight - all for the privilege of paying "only" $3.17 per gallon for gas.
At the Atlantic City rest area on the Garden State Parkway on Thursday evening, motorists tried to take advantage of the good deal on gas before the price went up this morning. Vehicles were lined up at least 20 deep in each direction as attendants ran back and forth between them, selling the liquid gold as quickly as they could.

It's all the result of a quirky state regulation that allows gas stations in highway rest areas to change their prices only once a week, on Friday mornings. When the price of gas spikes quickly, the highway rest areas have the best deal around.

Similar lines were seen Thursday on the Atlantic City Expressway, where gas stations charged $3.21 per gallon.

Sheryl Jones, of Winslow Township, who drove a Honda pickup truck, said she traveled 20 miles out of the way from her job in Pleasantville to buy gas on the Garden State Parkway.
"I'm filling it up. And then I'm going home to get my second car," Jones said. "If you look at how much I'm getting, you'll see why."

The attendant topped off her 16-gallon tank of gas for $51.

Rhonda Hood, of Pleasantville, rode up the parkway after work so she could get 20.3 gallons of gas for her Chevrolet Tahoe SUV for $64.59. She figured she saved 17 to 18 cents a gallon compared to what the fuel cost closer to home.

"I've been sitting waiting here an hour, but it was worth it," Hood said.

State Trooper David Robbins, keeping an eye on the scene, said he saw a few verbal arguments about who was ahead of whom or accusing someone of cutting in line, but things were otherwise orderly.

Two cars got into a fender-bender in the southbound lane as they jockeyed for position in line.

"It's worse up the road," said a Glenn Burnie, Md. man as he waited to fuel his Chevrolet Uplander SUV. The Forked River "plaza is backed up more than here."

For those old enough to remember the gas shortages of the early 1970s, Thursday's lines brought back some unhappy memories.

Kenneth Briggs of Brooklyn, N.Y., waiting at the rest stop in his Honda Odessey SUV with his mother, Myra Briggs and daughters Jadzia, 8, and Leela, 5, said he was in second grade in 1972. His family is staying overnight in Atlantic City, and he drove up the parkway to buy gas after an outing to a restaurant in Hamilton Township.

"I remember the gas shortage and the lines in Brooklyn," Briggs said. "The horns were honking and the tempers flaring."

When he left New York on Monday, a gallon of regular was selling for $3.55 to $3.59, Briggs said.

"I'm sure by now, it's $3.70," he said.

Not everyone waiting in line had a huge tank to fill.

Jarret Roth, a student at the nearby Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, came with his friendMatthew Flores to fill up his Scion coupe. He bought 12.9 gallons of gas for $41 after 15 or 20 minutes in line. But it won't last long, as he commutes to Ocean County for work.

"They said on the radio, if you're in the area to go get gas here," Flores said.

Larry and Annamarie Sesta, of Galloway Township, waited in line on their motorcycles, with their miniature Yorkshire terrier, Precious, perched on the back on one bike stylishly clad in a leather vest and purple sunglasses.

"We were lucky," Annamarie Sesta said. "We got in the parking lot, saw a short line and got in."

A pickup-truck driver didn't appreciate their initative, and yelled and cursed at them, claiming they cut the line and should wait their turn.

One bike has a 5-gallon tank, and the other a 6-gallon tank, but it was still worth waiting the 20 minutes to fill them up, Larry Sesta said. They planned to come back later to gas up their car and truck.

"I'd rather pay $3.17 than $3.30," Larry Sesta said. "It's about time this state gave me a break."

To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:
ERose@pressofac.com