SALEM, Mass. — Gas price increases are taking more than a toll on people’s budgets. The record-breaking numbers have been non-stop for more than two weeks. Some people say they are nearing the breaking point, if they’re not there already, and it is impacting their driving habits.
“It’s bad,” one driver said.
One driver’s strategy is putting in the bare minimum.
We also talked to a couple who is taking it slow to save gas on their cross-country trip to Maine.
“Twenty bucks, that will get me to New Hampshire,” the driver said.
“I use the cruise control as much as I can. I try to stick to the speed limit within 1 or 2 miles per hour,” the man said.
We caught up with Gov. Charlie Baker at a news event in Salem. He supports the gas tax suspension and is calling on lawmakers to act.
“We can do that here in Massachusetts without effecting our bond rating. We’d love to be supportive of that as well,” said the Governor.
This week, we talked to commercial fishermen, realtors and other businesses making their living using fuel, and they are all having trouble keeping their head above water. We asked the governor if there is any talk of helping particular industries like the state did during the pandemic.
“If we were to suspend the gas tax the cost of gas would drop by 25 cents a gallon, and that would make a huge difference for a lot of those folks. The fishermen and everybody else who rely on those products to do their jobs,” said the Governor.
As we have reported, the state Senate rejected pausing the gas tax through Labor Day.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW