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The Daily Commute Gets More Expensive

Tribune photo by KATHY MOORE

Crystal Guillen commutes daily from Hudson to MacDill Air Force Base.

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 26, 2008

Updated: 05/26/2008 12:10 pm

Remember when gas was $3 a gallon? Ah, the good old days. Gas prices are notoriously difficult to forecast, but analysts say the fateful, expensive day of $4 gas could be days away for parts of Florida and could hit the Tampa Bay area not much later.

"There's no doubt that certain areas will get $4 a gallon," said Randy Bly, community relations director for AAA Auto Club South. "Our area will follow sometime after that."

The Florida average for a gallon of unleaded jumped to $3.92 a gallon Friday - more than 32 cents higher than a month ago and 79 cents higher from a year ago.

Alaska hit a statewide average of $4 a gallon two weeks ago. Connecticut, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia strayed into $4 territory last week, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

Here's a snapshot of what commuters will face when $4-a-gallon gas arrives.

We calculated how much it will cost to fill up the tank in six popular automatic vehicles and the cost per day for commuting to Tampa from St. Petersburg, Brandon and New Tampa at $4 a gallon.

Honda Accord, 4 cylinder

24 mpg on average, $74 for an 18.5-gallon tank at $4 a gallon

St. Pete to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $5.67 per day
Brandon to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $3.67 per day
New Tampa to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $4 per day

Nissan Sentra, 4 cylinder

27 mpg on average, $52.80 for a 13.2-gallon tank at $4 a gallon

St. Pete to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $5.04 per day
Brandon to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $3.26 per day
New Tampa to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $3.56 per day

Ford Explorer, 6 cylinder, 2-wheel drive

16 mpg on average, $90 for a 22.5-gallon tank at $4 a gallon

St. Pete to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $8.50
Brandon to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $5.50
New Tampa to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $6

Dodge Ram pickup, 6 cylinder, 2-wheel drive

16 mpg on average, $104 for a 26-gallon tank at $4 a gallon

St. Pete to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $8.50
Brandon to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $5.50
New Tampa to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $6

Toyota Prius hybrid, 4 cylinder

46 mpg on average, $47.60 for an 11.9-gallon tank at $4 a gallon

St. Pete to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $2.96
Brandon to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $1.91
New Tampa to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $2.09

Hummer H3 SUV, 8 cylinder, 4-wheel drive

14 mpg on average, $92 for a 23-gallon tank at $4 a gallon

St. Pete to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $9.71
Brandon to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $6.29
New Tampa to downtown Tampa, roundtrip: $6.86

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