Drivers in New Jersey Fall for Low Gas Prices

Now seems like a good time to drive in New Jersey. Or at least pay for gas to get around.

While prices at the pump have fallen across the nation — as much as a dollar drop compared to a year ago — they are significantly lower in the Garden State, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

On Sunday, the national average was $2.48 per gallon, according to Tracy E. Noble, a spokesperson for the auto club. In New Jersey, it was about $2.20 per gallon.

AAA attributes the drop in gas prices to sagging crude oil prices.

For those who drive for a living, it is a welcome relief. It amounts to hundreds of dollars in savings for people like Ed Thacker, owner of the Hasbrouck Heights-based Silver Cloud Limousine Service. His drivers easily drive 200 miles per day carrying clients to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“It impacts the bottom line because you can’t bill a customer for fuel,” he said.

He paid $1.97 per gallon for gas on Sunday. That’s 27-cents cheaper for a gallon than he paid in July.

Rudy and Lillian de la Cruz of Yonkers said they saved about $14 to fill their gas tank in Englewood on Sunday, compared to what they normally pay near home.

AAA projects the drop will hold steady into the fall.