TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – As gas prices continue to rise, a trip to the gas station may look different.
A trip inside the gas station would normally follow filling up one’s tank. This is where one would find their favorite chips, candy or snack. However, this isn’t in the budget for many as gas prices rise.
Gas station cashiers witness this as it unfolds. Kerry Meredith is a cashier for a Sunoco station in Shelburn and said she has seen customers go to extreme lengths to just pay for gas.
“I’ve seen a lot more people using change,” Meredith said. “In these small towns you have to drive 30 minutes to go to get to work so people are really struggling.”
Just up the road in Pimento, Rylee Day’s BP station is seeing similar situations. Day said that customers are opting to not completely fill their gas tanks.
“They’re just putting little bits in their tank just to get by instead of filling up everyday,” Day explained. “It seems like everybody’s hiding out trying to save their money.”
Day said the store is losing a few hundred dollars per day because of less traffic in the store. He suggested that high gas prices are discouraging customers from buying items, or even just walking into the store.
Gas station cashiers are on the frontline of nationwide gas price increases, and Day said that he’s heard numerous complaints from patrons. However, he said that station don’t play a role in the price of gas.
“Not everybody sees it that way and just think we’re the ones in charge of it,” Day said.
According to GasBuddy, the average price for a gallon of gas in Indiana is $4.90
