Rising Gas Prices Are Contributing To The Ever Shrinking Bottom Line For Phoenix Transportation Company - Pro Driver John -

Just One Of Many Gas Example Prices Across The Valley Of The Sun - Circle K 16th Street & Southern Avenue

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"Since January, we have been monitoring the ever fluid state of our business, especially when it comes to our costs. The biggest factor in our pricing strategy, is and has always been the cost of the fuel that we put into our vehicles" according to John Shachter, CFO and business owner of Pro Driver John, "We were paying only about $3.09/gallon just a few months ago, but now things have gone way out of line."

John, a 40+ year veteran in the transportation field, said "we have not seen prices like this since June 2022, but it took 6 months to get to the $5 mark then, where now, it has taken less than three months to breach the same point." Of course, prices in the Phoenix metro area are all over the place, but according to AAA Fuel prices site (gasprices.aaa.com), the current average for gas prices in Arizona as a whole are:

• Regular Unleaded at $4.677/gallon

• Mid-Grade at $5.084/gallon

• Premium at $5.392/gallon

• and Diesel at $5.997/gallon

However, when you look at Phoenix Proper, we get an even scarier picture:

• Regular at $4.992/gallon

• Mid-Grade is averaging $5.419/gallon

• Premium at $5.713/gallon

• Diesel at $6.119/gallon

"Since January, our fuel costs have increased by $1.90/gallon: a 38% jump in our costs in less than 3 months" John states. "We need to do something, and do it now. We cannot continue to sit back and hope the government will do something." Starting immediately, John stated that they will be increasing the rates by about 16%. "we will share in the costs on our side, and ask our clientele to understand their part too.

On a side note, John added "we have seen some of our clients choosing to use other forms of transportation, such as public transportation, or carpooling with others when going to work. We are hoping that this is only temporary, so we can continue to be the best option when it comes to private car transportation."

This situation is not just a one-off...it doesn't just effect Pro Driver John Transportation. "We are not an island in this storm" John says "The gas prices are affecting gig drivers such as DoorDash Drivers, Uber/Lyft Drivers, and so on....people who need to make extra money to survive, but for whom the (gas) prices are drastically having an effect how much they can earn"

Then there is the cost of transportation for the companies who need to stock their stores. Increased transportation costs will have a domino effect on the cost of the things we need to purchase from our local markets. Your "free" delivery from Amazon might not always be free - or you might need to spend more to get the delivery free...and that may be at the expense of quicker service.

What happens in one part of our economy, effects the economy as a whole. In an article written by Isabel V. Sawhill on March 6, 2012 entitled "How Higher Gas Prices Hurt Less Affluent Consumers and the Economy" Isabel states the "Rising gas prices produce a level of hardship for a group that is already suffering from high levels of unemployment and stagnant or declining real wages." So, for people who have lower wages, and thus less discretionary income: an increase at the pump and what follows in the markets: will make life choices even more difficult.

Even if your have a higher income and drive an Electric Vehicle (EV), you may be cushioned from the effects, but not completely unaffected by it. Much of these gas price increases, has much to do about what is happening with the war with Iran. In an article written on March 4, 2026 by Louis Jacobson, PoilitiFact for PBS News, he quotes Hugh Daigle, a University of Texas - Austin petroleum & geosystems engineering professor, who said "Significant disruptions in the supply chain and damage to refining and processing facilities could cause elevated prices to last longer than the duration of the operations in Iran."

So to extrapolate from this given information at a very surface level view: it would seem that at least for the time being, we are looking at a long road of uncertainty paired with much higher than normal gas prices. It would seem that our elected officials on both sides of the isle, will wish to make strides to reduce fuel prices....especially as it is a mid-term election year (falling on November 3, 2026) and each side wants to be in or maintain power going forward.

ONLY TIME WILL TELL