JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Florida gas tax holiday started on Oct. 1, but the average price for a gallon of gas is actually higher today than it was before the gas tax holiday went into effect.
Prices were supposed to go down; the gas tax holiday was supposed to drop prices by about 25 cents per gallon. First Coast News reached out to Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy.com to see why prices aren't falling.
"Oil prices have jumped about $11 a barrel," said De Haan. "The wholesale price of gasoline has jumped considerably and that's offset the gas tax holiday."
Just this week OPEC decided to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels per day and De Haan says that's not helping either.
"OPEC's decision to cut production is right after Florida triggered it's gas tax holiday and the decision is going to override some of the savings," said De Haan, "but I'll say it this way, Florida gas prices aren't going to go up as much because of the gas tax holiday."
Drivers that First Coast News spoke with say that they've noticed the price change.
"Actually, I paid $3.02 two days ago and it's $3.27 today," said Paul Bussell, "so that's kind of unusual after they announced there'd be a decrease in the month of October."
"Every little dollar counts these days," said Sara Richards, "I try to consolidate errands and do things like that."
For longer trips, a little foresight goes a long way.
"This trip is 4,000 miles," said Michael Powers on his way back from New York State, "and we've been planning it and put it in our budget."
This recent rise is something that Floridians have to put into perspective, the average price for a gallon of gas in California is $6.45 per gallon, so people on the First Coast are still saving some money compared to those on the West Coast.