One gas station in the eastern United States temporarily lowered its price of gas, dropping it below a dollar per gallon.
On Wednesday, the Express Lane 76 in Forest, Virginia, dropped its price for a gallon of gas to $0.76, according to local station WDBJ. Drivers could fill up their tanks for the low price for only two hours, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. local time. Additionally, customers were only able to get that special price after downloading and using the My 76 App.
The gas station was recognizing its customers during its second annual Customer Appreciation Celebration with its price decrease, according to WFXR.
The price drop at the Virginia gas station came as the current national average price for a gallon of gas is just under $4.80, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), after rising to $5 per gallon in June. In Virginia, the current price is a tad lower than the national average, at just under $4.60 a gallon.
"July is typically the heaviest month for demand as more Americans hit the road, so this trend of easing prices could be short-lived," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a Tuesday blog post regarding the recent decrease in the average price of gasoline.
In addition to the gas, WFXR reported that the gas station was also holding in-store specials. All of the money raised by the gas station during its two-hour special will be given to Lynchburg Daily Bread, an organization dedicated to providing meals to those in need.
In a response to Newsweek, Sonny Villarreal, 76 brand manager at Motiva, indicated that the move from the Virginia station is in keeping with the company's brand.
"Part of our brand strategy is simply to be hyper-focused on the communities that we serve, and in these challenging economic times, customer appreciation events allow us to turn back the clock on fuel prices and offer a nostalgic price of 76 cents per gallon," Villarreal said in a statement.
The Express Lane 76 in Virginia isn't the only gas station in the country where prices have been temporarily slashed. Americans for Prosperity, a libertarian conservative political advocacy group that is supported, in part, by Charles Koch, has started The True Cost of Washington Tour.
In collaboration with the group, participating stations across the U.S. are lowering the price of gas, most for limited amounts of time, to $2.38—the average cost of a gallon of gas on January 20, 2021, the day that President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
The tour kicked off on May 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Since then, stations in Illinois, Mississippi, Michigan and Pennsylvania have taken part in the tour, dropping their price of gas to $2.38 for a limited window of time.
The tour is currently going through the Midwest, according to its website. On Wednesday, stations in Lowellville and Youngstown, Ohio, were taking part, with stations in Toledo, Cincinnati and Fort Wayne, Indiana, scheduled in the coming days.
The plan is to hit 100 stations in approximately 90 days. The tour only has stops through July 11, but its website indicates that others will be added soon.
In a response to Newsweek,
Newsweek reached out to 76 for comment.
Update 7/7/2022 at 11:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with information about Americans for Prosperity.
Update 7/7/2022 at 6:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from Sonny Villarreal.
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