Question: Why are gas prices so different from town to town?

gq_why_are_gas_prices_so_different_from_town_to_town-syndimport-052349

Have you put gas in the car lately? It’s pretty cheap right now, and while gas prices are lower everywhere, they aren’t all the same.

In Rochester and the Finger Lakes just over the past week, the difference is nearly a dollar in some places.

So, how can they be so different when a law passed years ago was supposed to level the field? Several of you have asked News10NBC’s Brennan Somers why prices are so different around town.

If you drive just a few blocks, you could save nearly $1 per gallon or end up paying that much more.

GQ: Why are gas prices so different from town to town?
News10NBC
Here’s an example of a question from a viewer named Jon: “Why are the gasoline prices so different? $1.62 at Walmart in Henrietta and over $2 south of the Thruway.”

What gives? Why such a difference just miles apart? We addressed this topic in a Good Question two years ago, looking at a new state law, in the late 2000s, aimed at ending so-called “zone pricing” in New York, so we’d see similar prices in town.

There are many factors, including wholesale prices and other mandates. New York allows gas stations some freedom to set prices based on market conditions and what they pay for wholesale fuel.

It’s still regulated, but some argue it opens the door to price gouging and the law passed in 2008 needs more teeth.

Back in a 2011 report, even the NYS Attorney General’s office pushed lawmakers to strengthen the language to help cut down on zone pricing by clearly defining it and to include retailers and distributors.

Several bills have been proposed but haven’t cleared Albany. A piece of legislation made it through the NYS Assembly last year but then died in the Senate.

Lawmakers are still working on this issue on the Senate side. The bill is stuck in committee at this point.

If you have a question you’d like answered, email us at GoodQuestion@whec.com

https://www.whec.com/rochester-new-york-news/gq-why-are-gas-prices-so-different-from-town-to-town/5733380/

— WHEC

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