Missouri Gas Prices Among Lowest in Nation but Drivers Still Feel the Pinch COLUMBIA, MO (KBIA) - Nationwide, the average cost of gas has topped $4 a gallon for the first time in our nation's history.

And in parts of California, the average price has topped $4.50 a gallon.

In Missouri, however, the average price of $3.80 a gallon is the lowest in the nation, thanks to a lucky combination of geography, taxes and ethanol production.

KBIA's Mark Lewis reports

Sedalia, Missouri, population 20,000 and home to the annual state fair, enjoyed a penny-pinching distinction this past Monday.

The cost for a single gallon of regular unleaded gas was just $3.67, the second-lowest price in the state and only a few pennies away from being the cheapest in the nation.

Still, Missourians are paying more than 70 cents over what they paid this time last year.

People in rural areas - because of lower incomes and the popularity of trucks and vans - are among the hardest hit nationally, and Missourians are no exception.

Sedalia resident Kenneth Neal, who lives on a fixed income, says he's feeling the pinch.

I quit driving so much. I don't go to the lake as much as I used to. And I don't go take frivolous runs. I used to just ride around town, but I don't do that no more. A lot of people are cutting down that way.

A nationwide survey conducted by the NPD group, a market research firm, found that 8 percent of Americans say they have changed their commuting patterns.

So, why are Missourians able to enjoy the relatively low cost of $3.80 a gallon?

AAA Missouri vice president Mike Right says the answer is three-fold.

Certainly Missouri is centrally located. It's crisscrossed by a number of petroleum supply pipelines. In addition to that, we have among the lowest gasoline taxes in the nation and we enjoy some fairly competitive competition among the retailers in the state of Missouri

At 36 cents per gallon, Missouri's combined state and federal gasoline tax is the third-lowest in the nation, just behind New Jersey and Wyoming.

Missouri drivers also get a break of about 10 cents per gallon because of a law enacted January 1, 2008, that requires all gas sold in the state to be blended with 10 percent ethanol, which is cheaper than petroleum.

The state estimates savings of $72.80 per driver in 2008.

But all that may not mean too much to the average Missouri driver, especially if gas prices continue to rise.

Sedalia resident Robert West, who was filling up on Monday at $3.77 a gallon, says if prices do rise, he's prepared to take drastic measures.

You know, I imagine Wal-Mart's going to be selling a lot of bicycles. To ride a bicycle across town is not that far. And there's going to be less cars, so it's going to be safe.

West may have the right idea.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration reports that Americans cut down on driving this past March - the most recent numbers available - for the first time since 1979, when prices at the pump hit $1 a gallon.

Mark Lewis, K-B-I-A News
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