Now that university and high school students have celebrated graduations, families have more time to hit the road, but the cost of travel keeps accelerating.
Marie Dodds is with AAA Oregon. She told KLCC, “Gas prices continue to set record highs almost daily. They continue to increase, and the big driving factor is the cost of crude oil. It remains above $120 a barrel and that’s about double the price it was last August.”
Dodds said prices normally rise in the spring and settle down after Memorial Day, but this year is different. Prices shot up after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and keep climbing. Demand is up despite the higher costs, as people take vacations they put off the last two summers. Dodds said in half the states a gallon of gas is over five dollars. In Eugene / Springfield, prices rose nine cents last week to an average of $5.57.
