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Long known for its sprawling freeways and car-centric lifestyle, Los Angeles is reaching a breaking point as fuel costs turn the simple act of driving into a “miserable, miserable, miserable” experience.
As regional gas prices soar past $8 a gallon, residents in the once-thriving Golden State are checking their eyes and their bank accounts, with some admitting they “thought it was a meme” or “thought it was AI.” But the financial pain is all too real for those living in the nation’s most expensive car culture, where filling a tank now requires a triple-digit investment.
“It’s very painful to drive in L.A. right now, and especially if you’re barely making minimum wage, it’s not even worth driving,” Amador, from Santa Clarita, told Fox News Digital during a man-on-the-street segment. “Thought it was a meme, thought it was AI, but looking at it up close, it’s kind of crazy to think you’re paying almost $9.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Aida, a mother originally from Nebraska, also told Fox News Digital. “Can I swear on the news? I said, ‘God d—! That was too much.’ It’s too much for those prices.”
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“This is so crazy,” Bessy, who was born in El Salvador, added. “I never thought gas [was] gonna go that [high]. Like it’s just crazy.”
Stopping at multiple gas stations across Los Angeles County, drivers expressed disbelief at gasoline prices approaching $9 per gallon. According to AAA, as of the last week of April, California’s average price per gallon was $6.01, while the national average was $4.30.
The highest price Fox News Digital saw was at a Chevron in Downtown Los Angeles, where a regular gallon was $8.29 and the highest grade of diesel ran $8.89 per gallon.
Drivers said that filling up their tank now exceeds $100, while others make the decision to pump what they fiscally can. Nick, an LA resident originally hailing from Phoenix, said he paid $110 at the pump.
“I don’t even look… I can’t look at it. I put it in, and then I put the little thing up, and I turn around, and I put my card in, and I just pray to God. It’s over $100,” Aida said.
“It’s surprising, right? That the prices are so high and that everything increases except salaries,” one woman, Davieba, said. “To be sincere with you, I can’t even fill it up because of the prices. So I keep filling it up with only what I need.”
“Before I’d fill it up with, because I have a small car, I filled it with $40. Now it’s like $63 to $65, almost double,” Manuel, an Olvera Street market owner, said.
The economic impact of high gas prices is hitting their budgets, too. As gas taxes and refinery constraints keep California’s prices the highest in the nation, drivers are watching their bank accounts drain in real time and having to make spending concessions as inflation remains elevated.
When asked where that $100 would go if it wasn’t spent at the pump, Bessy said, “going out, having fun;” Davieba said, “definitely food;” Manuel would put the money back into his market; Amador would “take a vacation;” and Nick would’ve splurged at Coachella.
In a city famous for its car culture, the fiscal weight of fuel is also doing what decades of urban planning couldn’t do: forcing people onto public transit out of pure “necessity.”
“This time, I take the decision to not [drive] because of that. So I’m taking the train instead of paying for gas and parking,” Bessy explained.
“[I’m] taking as much public transportation as I can right now. If it’s something that I have to drive, I’ll drive,” Amador said. “But other than that, if I can get there by a bus or a train, I’d take that instead.”
“I want everything to be close, but unfortunately, jobs are far,” Davieba said, “so that necessity makes you go out, and you have to go out to find the money to live.”
The high cost of fuel and the mental toll of the road have added a layer of volatility to an already aggressive driving environment. For these drivers who have seen how the rest of the country lives, the contrast is stark and demoralizing.
“Miserable, miserable, miserable,” Aida said when asked to describe what it’s like to be a driver in Los Angeles. “I just came back from Nebraska. People in Nebraska, I did the worst three-point turn that a human has ever done, ever. And the man I cut off looked at me and was like, ‘Bye, have a good day!’ Here, you can just be minding your business and someone’s like, ‘I’m gonna T-bone you!’ You know what I mean? So it’s awful. It’s very stressful. It’s painful and very scary. I love LA. It’s just, there’s a lot going on here.”
“Traffic is about the same, still brutal,” Nick said. “[It’s] probably one of the worst places to be a driver in the U.S.”
This is Part 2 of Fox News Digital’s series, “Golden State strain: Inside California’s economic nightmare.” In the next installment, Los Angeles city leaders and state officials answer for the mystery surcharges and tax burdens hitting the pump, and whether any real relief is on the horizon for millions of Californians.
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