Gas prices spike in Capital Region

With gas prices moving past the $4 mark in the Capital Region, NewsChannel 13 asked drivers what they think about the surge.

Everyone said they are not happy about gas prices, and it is not going to get much better any sooner.

"It sucks. Enough people are struggling with COVID-19 and just adding and adding on top of things," Robert Spooner said, who drives a pickup truck.

If you have tried filling up your car recently, you have noticed it is costing you much more.

"For right now, I think I’m not going to drive that much. I can’t be paying that much for gas," Naja Hart said, who drives a Jeep.

Scott Carlone, the manager at Broadway Auto Clinic, has a few tips so you do not have to visit the gas station as much and save a few bucks.

"The biggest way is the obvious: maintenance. Good oil changes, keeping track of the air pressure in your tires -if it’s not too high or too low and in general, just decent driving," Carlone said.

A representative with Stewart’s Shops said prices were on the rise even before the Ukraine conflict, and now it has just gotten worse.

They have seen 20% increases in oil and diesel costs and 15% increases in gasoline costs in the last week.

Drivers are trying to be more efficient.

"We’re going to the store. What do you all need," Amy Albano said, a mom of four. "We were out today and thought, ‘should we stop at Price Chopper? Do we need anything else?’ You have to think more than just jump in the car and go."

Stewart’s said now that most countries are not buying from Russia, there’s a global squeeze on the supply of oil, gasoline, diesel, and natural gas.

It’s not just gas prices going up, oil change prices are going up, too.