Ukraine Russia feud leads to long gas lines in SWGA

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - On Thursday, Georgians paid an average of $3.40 per gallon of gas.

With many people relying on gas for their jobs, the prices have left some Georgians to make tough decisions.

Unfortunately, prices are expected to remain high. Oil prices briefly jumped above $100 per barrel following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

An Albany woman told WALB News 10 her new car takes premium gas. A decision she doesn’t regret now because she has the money.

Not everyone can afford these high prices though.

“We’ve got a very small amount of oil from Russia. But we can replace it with many other places. I don’t expect any fuel shortages. I expect prices to stay high so if people are, maybe they’re trying to, beat the price increases. I don’t think we’ll see shortages,” Jeffrey Dorfman, a University of Georgia economist, said.

Still, many people are uneasy and cannot take the price where they are now.

Many are planning on reducing spending on food and going out to dinners or bars.

“It’s ridiculous for a poor person to try to make it. Gas prices are steadily going up and then the war in Ukraine making it even harder for the people. It shouldn’t be like that,” one Albany resident who didn’t want to give his full name told WALB.

But for some, the prices aren’t a concern. That’s because they don’t have a car, or like Damoius Knighton, places are close enough to walk.

“I fill up like one time a month,” Knighton said.

That’s because he sells his art and performs during the weekend. On the other days, he prefers to walk no matter what the price for gas is.

“Mondays through Fridays, I exercise and stuff like that. And then it’s the weekend when I drive,” he said.

Knighton said he does understand why there is a panic to buy, but he isn’t worried at this moment.

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