Tampa Bay voices weigh in on higher prices at the gas pump
By Gabriella Paul
April 10, 2026 at 8:50 AM EDT
Residents, truckers and snowbirds say they're experiencing sticker shock at the pump. At $4.10 a gallon on Thursday, gas prices in Florida are nearly 20% higher than they were a month ago.
People across the greater Tampa Bay region are frustrated at the gas pump.
Average prices climbed above $4 a gallon last week and stayed there — the highest since 2022.
Fueling up her Pontiac Solstice at a Wawa on North Florida Avenue, Jeanette Brennan said she's feeling the squeeze despite having a small car with decent mileage.
"It's very, very tiny, and it gets about 30 miles to the gallon. But it's not enough," she said. "[Gas prices] are obscene right now, like, literally in the last two weeks, it is almost 83 cents more a gallon to fill up my gas tank."
Farther east, off U.S. 301, trucker Reniel Fuentes said his big rig takes about $600 to fill up on diesel.
Speaking in Spanish, he said, "Now, fueling with diesel for a full tank is very expensive, very high-priced."
Diesel prices in Florida averaged $5.69 a gallon on Sunday, according to AAA.
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At a Costco in Bradenton, Michigan snowbird Michael Livingston was starting to dread his upcoming 1,000-mile trek north while pumping gas.
"It's kind of irritating to have to pay extra. You know. ... Yeah, we talk about getting an electric vehicle or something," Livingston said.
On top of high prices, the Tampa metro has experienced a lagging gas supply to meet the demand.
Alex Zander Torres, a fuel truck driver from Illinois, said he was sent south to work in Florida this month to pick up the slack.
"The supply is high, and the demand is high, yet we don't have enough people to cover it, so they've been bringing us in from other areas to help out," he said.
Fuel tanker driver Alex Zander Torres, with Kenan Advantage Group, completes a delivery at a Wawa on North Florida Avenue in Tampa on April 8, 2026. (6000x4000, AR: 1.5)
University of South Florida economics professor Michael Snipes said the metro area's high demand for gas isn't surprising given the large population, car-reliant culture and heavy spring break tourism.
"If we want to get anywhere, and especially in an area that's as spread out as the Tampa Bay region is, we need cars. We don't really have any other options," he said.
With stagnant wages and rising prices, purchasing power at the pump is dwindling. To cover the gap, Snipes said, consumers are increasingly running up credit cards and taking out short-term loans.
If gas prices remain sticky — meaning slow to adjust to shifts in supply or demand — Snipes said the local economy could take a hit from prolonged above-average prices.
"That's money that was going into — at least potentially — the local economy. That's no longer going into the local economy. It's going toward, you know, the big corporate, petroleum conglomerates," he said.
This week, markets reacted positively to President Donald Trump's announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. That includes predictions of some relief at the pump despite remaining uncertainty over the future shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to global oil markets.
Despite geopolitical factors, Snipes said the economics of the situation is that high gas prices tend to stay high.
"So everybody needs gasoline. Every industry, in one way or another, is going to be using petroleum products or gasoline. So once the price goes up, there's really very little incentive for the firms that sell gasoline to drop prices," he said.
AAA reports the average price of gas in Florida was $4.03 on Sunday (down from $4.12 on Thursday). The national average was $4.13. Last month, the state's average was closer to $3.50.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
Average prices climbed above $4 a gallon last week and stayed there — the highest since 2022.
Fueling up her Pontiac Solstice at a Wawa on North Florida Avenue, Jeanette Brennan said she's feeling the squeeze despite having a small car with decent mileage.
"It's very, very tiny, and it gets about 30 miles to the gallon. But it's not enough," she said. "[Gas prices] are obscene right now, like, literally in the last two weeks, it is almost 83 cents more a gallon to fill up my gas tank."
Farther east, off U.S. 301, trucker Reniel Fuentes said his big rig takes about $600 to fill up on diesel.
Speaking in Spanish, he said, "Now, fueling with diesel for a full tank is very expensive, very high-priced."
Diesel prices in Florida averaged $5.69 a gallon on Sunday, according to AAA.
Untitled
At a Costco in Bradenton, Michigan snowbird Michael Livingston was starting to dread his upcoming 1,000-mile trek north while pumping gas.
"It's kind of irritating to have to pay extra. You know. ... Yeah, we talk about getting an electric vehicle or something," Livingston said.
On top of high prices, the Tampa metro has experienced a lagging gas supply to meet the demand.
Alex Zander Torres, a fuel truck driver from Illinois, said he was sent south to work in Florida this month to pick up the slack.
"The supply is high, and the demand is high, yet we don't have enough people to cover it, so they've been bringing us in from other areas to help out," he said.
Fuel tanker driver Alex Zander Torres, with Kenan Advantage Group, completes a delivery at a Wawa on North Florida Avenue in Tampa on April 8, 2026. (6000x4000, AR: 1.5)
University of South Florida economics professor Michael Snipes said the metro area's high demand for gas isn't surprising given the large population, car-reliant culture and heavy spring break tourism.
"If we want to get anywhere, and especially in an area that's as spread out as the Tampa Bay region is, we need cars. We don't really have any other options," he said.
With stagnant wages and rising prices, purchasing power at the pump is dwindling. To cover the gap, Snipes said, consumers are increasingly running up credit cards and taking out short-term loans.
If gas prices remain sticky — meaning slow to adjust to shifts in supply or demand — Snipes said the local economy could take a hit from prolonged above-average prices.
"That's money that was going into — at least potentially — the local economy. That's no longer going into the local economy. It's going toward, you know, the big corporate, petroleum conglomerates," he said.
This week, markets reacted positively to President Donald Trump's announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. That includes predictions of some relief at the pump despite remaining uncertainty over the future shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to global oil markets.
Despite geopolitical factors, Snipes said the economics of the situation is that high gas prices tend to stay high.
"So everybody needs gasoline. Every industry, in one way or another, is going to be using petroleum products or gasoline. So once the price goes up, there's really very little incentive for the firms that sell gasoline to drop prices," he said.
AAA reports the average price of gas in Florida was $4.03 on Sunday (down from $4.12 on Thursday). The national average was $4.13. Last month, the state's average was closer to $3.50.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. Here’s how you can share your story with her.