Gas lines form on Nantucket before prices jump 60 cents

May 1, 2008 10:10 AM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The rumor tore across Nantucket last night like a hurricane: The price of gasoline was going to spike 60 cents in the morning. By dusk, lines 15 to 20 cars long clogged the island’s four gas stations as drivers topped off their tanks with fuel that already cost near $4 a gallon.

"It was fear, and it spread like wildfire," said Robyn Kelly, manager of Hatch’s Package Store on Orange Street. "I don't know how the rumor got out, but somebody knew."

Hatch’s added another attendant to help pump gas. In a four hectic hours before closing, the station sold more than $3,000 beyond what it typically did during an average eight-hour day, Kelly said.

This morning it was clear why. The price of regular jumped 59 cents to $4.56. Super hit $4.69, an increase of 65 cents.

It was the same at On Island Gas on Sparks Avenue, where regular surged 60 cents to $4.59 and premium hit $4.75, which was a 71-cent climb above Wednesday’s price.

"Everybody is still coming in and filling up," said Tracy Morgan, who was working this morning at On Island Gas. "They say they’ve never seen prices this high, but they are still filling the tank."

A statewide survey Monday by AAA Southern New England found an average price of $3.54 per gallon for self-serve, regular unleaded. The price had jumped 16 cents from a week ago, and 35 cents more than two weeks ago. That national average was $3.60.

On Nantucket at least, the prices don’t appear to be changing people’s lifestyles, even as the cost approaches $5.

"People like to complain, but they don’t to change their habits," Kelly said at Hatch's. "Maybe they will now. A lot of people on this island have SUVs, and when I’m out walking on Sundays, I still see them driving."