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business Thursday 16 June 2022
How to afford summer road trips amid high gas prices

By SALLY FRENCH of Nerd- San Francisco International
Wallet Airport during the first week
A summer road trip used to of July for a standard, gas-
be a cost-effective, easy powered car like a Volk-
getaway. This year, soaring swagen Jetta would aver-
gas prices and expensive age about $640 . Head to
rental cars might make you peer-to-peer car-sharing
think twice about hitting site Turo, and there are
the road. more than a dozen Teslas
According to the Ameri- available to book in San
can Automobile Associa- Francisco on the same
tion, a federation of mo- dates for less than $800.
tor clubs throughout North If you filled the Jetta's
America, the average gas roughly 13-gallon gas tank
price was $4.60 per gallon twice at $6 a gallon (which
nationally before Memorial isn't unheard of in some
Day weekend. Some ex- states like California), you'd
perts believe the national pay more than $150 in gas.
average might even top $5 That cost plus the rental
later in the summer. A gasoline pump is shown at a gas station Friday, June 10, 2022, in Salt Lake City. would have you paying
Plus, rental car prices hit re- Associated Press roughly the same amount
cord highs during the pan- as booking the Tesla.
demic, up 38.6% in Febru- 2. Arkansas. Kansas City, it's about three trade-offs. With so many variables, it
ary 2022 versus February 3. Kansas. hours on to Omaha, Ne- Hotel and vacation rental pays to shop around be-
2020, according to a Nerd- 4. Mississippi. braska, where you can try companies also are making fore you make reservations.
Wallet analysis of U.S. Con- 5. Oklahoma. the allegedly original Reu- it easier to search for ac- KNOW WHERE TO FIND THE
sumer Price Index inflation 6. Missouri. ben sandwich. commodations that offer CHEAPEST GAS
data. 7. Louisiana. BE STRATEGIC ABOUT RENT- electric vehicle charging. If driving a gas-powered
But those roadblocks don't 8. Nebraska. AL CARS More hotels are promoting car is non-negotiable,
necessarily mean you have 9. South Carolina. If you're renting a car, un- electric vehicle charging master the art of saving
to put the brakes on travel 10. Texas. derstand that rental car as a hotel perk, right along- money on gas. Download
completely. You might just Given how many of those prices can vary dramati- side traditional amenities apps like GasBuddy, which
have to shift your road trip states border each other, cally depending on the like pools and breakfast track local gas prices and
plans. Here's how. it'd be fairly easy to plan a rental company, whether buffets. Many hotels even can help guide you to the
CONSIDER CHANGING road trip through the South you're renting from an air- allow you to charge your cheapest station near you.
YOUR DESTINATION or Midwest. You could start port location versus down- car at no cost. It also helps to drive more
If you're open-minded in St. Louis, and make the town, and how far in ad- If rental car prices are bru- efficiently. Adjusting how
about your vacation des- roughly four-hour drive on vance you book. tally high, consider book- you speed up, brake or use
tination, consider driving Interstate 70 across the Speaking of renting a car, ing with alternative rental cruise control can have an
through a region with be- state to Kansas City, Mis- this might be the year you car companies like Turo or impact on your gas usage.
low-average gas prices. souri. Make time for a pit rent an electric vehicle. Getaround, which can be And if all else fails and
On June 1, 10 states had stop in Columbia, which is a The EV may have a more cheaper than a major car you're stuck with a gargan-
average gas prices below quintessential college town expensive rental price, but rental company. Many of tuan gas bill, at least earn
$4.30 per gallon for regular with the University of Mis- it could be cheaper than these companies are rela- rewards for your spending
grade gasoline, according souri. Boonville is another renting a gas-powered car tively new and allow you to through a rewards credit
to AAA data. great stop, where you can and filling its tank. AAA has book cars directly from the card.
Those states, ranked from tour Warm Springs Ranch, a helpful gas calculator owners, functioning as an The best gas credit cards
cheapest to most expen- home of the iconic Bud- tool that factors in the type "Airbnb for cars." can typically net at least
sive, were: weiser Clydesdales. (Walk- of car and where you're For example, the cost of a 3% back in rewards for your
1. Georgia. ing tours start at $15 .) From driving to help you see the weeklong car rental from gas station spending.q

Cuba sugar harvest only half of expected; sector in 'crisis'

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba, Pérez did not say how Pérez said the reasons for
once legendary for its sug- much sugar had been har- this season's low production
ar cane, produced only vested, but at the end of include a shortage of herbi-
about half the sugar it had last year Economy Minis- cides and fertilizers, a delay
hoped to this season, and ter Alejandro Gil said the in starting up sugar mills,
authorities acknowledged state plan was to produce and even a lack of oxygen
that while they will cover in- 911,000 tons this sugar har- — which was hoarded by
ternal demand they will not vest, which concluded in the health sector to com-
be able to meet their inter- May. The percentage giv- bat COVID-19 — needed
national commitments. en by Pérez would mean to repair breakages. He
"It's not a secret, the sec- that production was about also blamed a lack of fuel
tor is in crisis," Dionis Pérez, 482,000 tons. and spare tires due to U.S.
director of communication The figure is half the 800,000 sanctions. Farmers use machetes to weed a sugar cane field in Madruga,
at Azcuba, the govern- tons harvested in 2020-2021 He said it was not realistic Cuba, Thursday, April 29, 2021.
ment agency that regu- and is the lowest figure in at to compare current sugar Associated Press
lates sugar production on least 100 years. In the 1980s, production to that of the
the island, told reporters Cuba produced up to 8 1980s. "I had 150 (sugar) Fifty-four of those were only 35 contributed to the
Wednesday. "This year million tons of sugar a year. mills then, now I have 56. active, and of those 54 harvest."q