COLUMBUS – Americans’ tolerance for high gasoline prices appears to fluctuate with the price at the pump.
When the price goes up, our comfort level goes up as well; and when the price drops, our idea of what price is “too high” mirrors the change, according to a new survey from the auto club AAA.
During the early years of the decade, when it appeared as though $3 a gallon had become the new standard for gas prices, consumers had begun to accept it. Half of those who responded to the AAA’s survey said the price was too high at $3.44, 20 cents cheaper than the average price nationwide at the time. The results of the 2014 survey were similar (see graph above).
But the price of gas and drivers’ attitudes toward it have changed dramatically since 2015.
Two years ago, the average price at the pump had fallen to $2.39 a gallon and motorists’ tolerance fell to $3. By 2016, when the average price was $2.50, motorists though $2 was too high. In February, the average price was $2.27, but Americans could tolerate as much as $2.80 before they though the price was too high, the survey showed.
The current Ohio gas price average is 19 cents higher than one year ago at $2.12 a gallon and the national average is 24 cents higher than a year ago at $2.28 a gallon (above).
The average price in Columbus Tuesday morning was $2.09, 3 cents cheaper than Monday but 15 cents higher than the price in 2016.
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If the survey is accurate, expect motorists to grow more irritated with the price at the pump as warmer weather arrives.
The auto club’s analysts say Americans will start to see gas prices climb as the industry wraps up spring maintenance and completes the switchover to summer-blend gasoline.
AAA projects the national average for a gallon of gasoline will increase 40 cents this summer, peaking near $2.70.
In 2016, the national gas price average peaked at $2.38 on June 11 and Ohio’s average gas price peaked at $2.69 on the same date.