GREENSBORO, N.C. — When your car starts running low on fuel, you know you are about to spend a lot of money at the pump. That's because gas prices are still on the rise.
Some businesses in our area are feeling these impacts, in more ways than one. Others are finding different means of transportation.
After spending close to $100 to fill his tank, Justin Mays found an alternative way to get around town while saving money. He rides his bike.
“I am still a very busy person and very on the go so I’m not gonna let gas prices stop me from doing what it is that I want and have to do,” Mays explained as to why he won't be slowing down.
Some people are saving money in other ways, like pawing items for instant cash.
“Everybody has a conscious idea of how much they’re gonna spend on gas per week, that cost has basically gone up by a factor of 2 in the past year and a half,” said Pawn Way owner, Kyle Farson.
Over the last year and a half, Pawn Way in Greensboro has seen more customers who are heading in to hopefully leave with some money.
Farson explained, “a large number of our customers, they actually bring their items with the anticipation of getting them back. They’ve invested their time and money to get these items. They use this as a temporary means to get through these hard times which we don’t know how long these times will last.”
All Over Towing in Kernersville Manager, William Angel, has seen firsthand how hard the gas price increase has hit the community. He said they have almost doubled their calls per week because people are driving their cars until they are completely out of gas.
“Volume definitely increased just in the past coming weeks but we see it probably increasing more as people continue on the same trend of keeping their fuel tanks low, and stuff breaking whenever that happens,” Angel said.
Angel said the rise in gas prices has them increasing their prices too by $10 to $15 dollars, and it's all going in the gas tank.
"Our volume obviously increasing is going to increase our wait time. We don’t have but so many trucks and so many people to be out on the road at all times,” Angel explained.
Angel said it isn’t good for your car to get super low on fuel. He said there are some things in your tank that have to be surrounded by liquid so if you’re in a situation where you are driving until the very last drop, it’s best to just stay home or find other means of transportation.