Rising Gas Prices Hurting Chicago Cabbies

AAA reports that gas prices have risen for the past 33 days; FBN’s Tracy Byrnes says this translates to an increase of 13 cents for the average gallon of gas.

It’s not just commuters that are experiencing the pain at the pump, so to speak. Many U.S. small businesses are getting hit in the fallout. FBN’s Jeff Flock visited Chicago’s Carriage Cab company on Tuesday, finding that many of the business’s cabs were stuck in the lot.

As drivers pay the company $300 each day to rent a cab – and gas would cost about $100 – many drivers seem to feel that it would be too tough to make money these days.

Flock reports that the city of Chicago had, for a period of time, the highest gas prices in the country. For now, that distinction goes to Santa Barbara, CA, where a regular gallon of gas will set you back $4.37. Flock says that once gas hits the $4-mark, the local economy begins to sustain real damage.

While most major metro areas are seeing gas prices above $4, there are some places left where gas is relatively “cheap.” In Billings, MO, a regular gallon can be had for $3.19, and in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM, a gallon of regular gas is going for $3.28 and $3.29 respectively, according to GasBuddy.com.

As Flock reports, even companies that aren’t so directly impacted by rising gas prices will likely be impacted, as consumers who are paying more to fill their tanks have less to spend elsewhere.