AUDIO: Arizona gas prices some of the highest in the nation

by Julia Thompson
  • Slug: Gas Prices
  • Runtime: 1:58
  • Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

ANCHOR INTRO

YOU MAY CRINGE WHEN FILLING UP YOUR GAS TANK. ARIZONA RANKS IN THE TOP TEN NATIONWIDE FOR THE PRICE OF A REGULAR GALLON OF GAS, ACCORDING TO TRIPLE-A. SEVERAL RIDESHARING COMPANIES AND PUBLIC TRANSIT ARE HANDLING THE PRICE JUMP IN DIFFERENT WAYS. 

PKG

<sot LINDSAY KRAUSE/ DOORDASH DRIVER/ runs :09, hits :14-:23>

<sot JOHN TREANOR/ SPOKESPERSON, AAA/hits :58-1:08 >

<sot BRITTANY HOFFMAN/ PUBLIC INFORMATION SPECIALIST, VALLEY METRO/ runs :07 hits 1:27-1:35>

(***PKG***)

<nat CARS/ runs:03>

HIGH PRICES, AND HIGHER STRESS.

<sot LINDSAY KRAUSE/ DOORDASH DRIVER/ runs :03, hits xx-xx>

“There are times where I’m like ‘I really shouldn’t drive down there.’” 3 sec

LINDSAY KRAUSE SAYS THE SAME THING AS MOST OTHER DRIVERS.

<sot LINDSAY KRAUSE/ DOORDASH DRIVER/ runs :01, hits xx-xx>

‘It’s just really expensive to fill up my tank.” 1 sec

 KRAUSE IS A DRIVER FOR DOORDASH, A POPULAR FOOD DELIVERY PLATFORM.

<sot LINDSAY KRAUSE/ DOORDASH DRIVER/ runs :09, hits xx-xx>

“They’ll offer me orders and they’ll tell me what the price is gonna be and how far I’m gonna have to drive, what restaurant I’m gonna go to and then I can decide whether I’m going to accept it or not.” 9 sec

DOORDASH AND OTHER SIMILAR COMPANIES, LIKE UBER EATS AND LYFT ANNOUNCED THEY’RE GIVING DRIVERS EXTRA FUNDS TO OFFSET THE COST OF GAS. 

UBER AND LYFT ARE ADDING FEES AND GIVING THEM DIRECTLY TO DRIVERS.

DOORDASH ISN’T RAISING ITS PRICES, BUT IT’S GIVING  DRIVERS 10 PERCENT OF THEIR GAS PURCHASES THROUGH THE END OF APRIL, UP FROM THE NORMAL 2 PERCENT.

<sot LINDSAY KRAUSE/ DOORDASH DRIVER/ runs :08, hits xx-xx>

“It, you know, incentivizes people to continue buying from Doordash which is important because the less people that buy, the less orders that I can get.” 8 sec

GAS PRICES HAVE DIPPED SLIGHTLY IN THE LAST WEEK.

STILL, JOHN TREANOR WITH TRIPLE-A SAYS THE WEST IS DEALING WITH SOME OF THE HIGHEST PRICES IN THE COUNTRY.

<sot JOHN TREANOR/ SPOKESPERSON, AAA/ runs :11 hits xx-xx >

“What we can tell you about Arizona is true for a lot of the West, Utah, Nevada. They are the ten states with the largest weekly increases in price.” 11 sec 

AS OF MARCH 22ND A REGULAR GALLON OF GAS IN ARIZONA IS FOUR DOLLARS AND SIXTY CENTS, ACCORDING TO TRIPLE-A. NATIONWIDE, IT’S FOUR DOLLARS AND 24 CENTS.

<nat light rail/ 3 sec>

AND AS THE GAS PRICES INCREASE, SO DO THE NUMBER OF RIDERS ON PUBLIC TRANSIT.

BRITTANY HOFFMAN WITH VALLEY METRO SAYS THEY’VE SEEN A JUMP IN RIDERS.

<sot BRITTANY HOFFMAN/ PUBLIC INFORMATION SPECIALIST, VALLEY METRO/ runs :07 hits xx-xx>

“I can say over the past six months, as we have slowly seeing the gas prices tick up we’ve definitely seen an increase in ridership.” 7 sec

VALLEY METRO HAS NO PLANS TO INCREASE FARES FOR RIDERS.

<sot BRITTANY HOFFMAN/ PUBLIC INFORMATION SPECIALIST, VALLEY METRO/ runs :11 hits xx-xx>

“At this time, valley metro has no plans to raise fares in any capacity due to either ridership, gas prices, that’s not what causes the fluctuation in our fares.” 11 sec

KRAUSE IS WATCHING THE PRICES CLOSELY…AND IS MORE AWARE OF HOW SHE IS GETTING AROUND TOWN.

<sot LINDSAY KRAUSE/ DOORDASH DRIVER/ runs :08, hits xx-xx>

“It’s really important for me, to like, go with other people and carpool, so that, I don’t have to pay for the gas.” 5 sec

TAG

THE AVERAGE FUEL SURCHARGE FOR UBER AND LYFT IS BETWEEN 35 AND 55 CENTS PER RIDE O   R ORDER.