America Battles Sticker Shock at Gas Pump
March 8, 2011— -- There was no relief for Americans today from rising, record-setting gas prices.
The average cost of gas has jumped to $3.52 per gallon, up 72 cents in the past month. Overnight, prices jumped another penny.
It is the highest price ever posted during the month of March. And gas could cost even more, depending on location.
California remains the nation's most expensive state, where gas tops $3.91 a gallon, according to AAA's daily gas prices. The least expensive gas is in Montana: $3.19 a gallon.
But the nation's priciest gas can be found in Florida at a Suncoast Energy gas station in Orlando. There, gas prices have passed the $5 mark: $5.39 a gallon for regular and $5.49 for premium.
Suncoast is among the last gas stations travelers pass on the way to the Orlando airport, making it a prime spot for customers in a pinch.
When ABC News asked would-be Suncoast patrons about their choice of gas station and pointed out the high prices, some decided to look elsewhere to fill up their tanks.
"It's lower than California, I know that," one man said before he saw the price signs. "What the ... I guess not."
Sally Slater said she spent $75 to fill up her SUV with half a tank of gas, which is about $5.50 per gallon.
"This is like robbery," Slater said, admitting that she didn't look at the price of the gas before pumping. "If I had looked beforehand, I would not have purchased this."
ABC News tried to contact the station owners about the prices but received no response. Technically, the station's rate is not price gouging, a legal term which applies only during states of emergency, like Hurricane Katrina.
In fact, stations can charge as much as they want, but Orlando's mayor has said he doesn't approve of the price.
"We don't think this is right. We don't think people should be tricked into paying $2 a gallon more for gas than they could a half mile down the road," said Mayor Buddy Dyer.
$4.00 per gallon in Massachusetts
Drivers on the go can use their mobile device to find the closest and cheapest gas. GasBuddy released a mobile app for iPhones in December and is hoping to release a version for Blackberry devices by the second quarter this year. The free app uses GPS and cellular triangulation technology to provide listings for gas stations. GasBuddy also has an app for Android devices and Windows phones.
"It's a pivotal time to use the GasBuddy app to distinguish stations that have and haven't raised prices," DeHaan said.
DeHaan said there are currently 79 million users, between those who have downloaded the app and those who used the Internet to report gas prices.
The majority of gas prices are reported voluntarily by users, but GasBuddy also has a program for gas stations to report their prices directly, DeHaan said.
When asked about the dependability of volunteer-reported data, DeHaan said they check each price posting for reliability. He said the system checks pricing patterns, a station's past history and its neighborhood competition.
"If someone accidentally presses a wrong button, data integrity will test that," DeHaan said. "Most of the time our system is very reliable. We do on occasion independently confirm data."
ABC News' Erin Keohane and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
