Steven Ceci stood at Falls Road and West Northern Parkway during rush hour Tuesday as cars cruised by Exxon and Shell gas stations.
Regular gas was going for $3.27 a gallon at the Exxon station and $3.29 a gallon at the Shell station, high enough to affect Ceci?s finances.
“These high gas prices are almost like a pay cut,” said Ceci, of Baltimore. “I have to be very selective with where I go, and I have to be very selective with my necessities. It?s not justme. It?s everyone.”
With gas prices reaching record highs in Maryland and across the country, Ceci and other members of the Maryland Coalition to Stop the BGE Rate Hike are now promoting a “selective buying” campaign against several major oil and gas companies. The group was out Tuesday to urge motorists to boycott Exxon, BP, Shell and Chevron.
“They?re the big boys in the industry who are causing the problems we have,” said Leo Burroughs Jr., chair of the coalition. “Somebody?s got to do it, and we don?t see any initiatives coming from other organizations. We?re getting a lot of thumbs-up from people.”
Gas prices in the Baltimore area have increased 4 percent in the past month from $3.116 a gallon to $3.238 a gallon, according to AAA?s Fuel Gauge Report. A year ago, a gallon of regular gas in the region cost $2.654.
Increasing gas prices lead to difficult budget decisions for low- and middle-income Baltimore residents, said Andrea Payne, a policy analyst with Baltimore?s Jobs Opportunities Task Force.
Oil futures, meanwhile, extended their slide Tuesday as the dollar gained ground. Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 60 cents to settle at $100.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier falling as low as $99.55.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
