Seattle drivers are perpetually haunted by expensive gas. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Seattle gas prices average $2.820 per gallon of regular grade fuel, as of June 29, 2009. This elevated reading trumps the $2.642 National average by 18 cents. High priced fuel is par for the course on the West Coast and Seattle motorists will certainly welcome any viable proposal to secure cheap gasoline.
Taxes and crude oil costs comprise 70% of pricing at the pump. Nationally, state taxes, along with the particular locale’s geographic distance from critical Gulf Coast infrastructure precipitate the greatest gas price variances across state lines. Furthermore, the wealth effect of tonier sections of town, combined with access to critical traffic arteries always undergirds the pricier metropolitan service station establishments.
We will take these trends into consideration as we analyze Seattle’s gas price matrix and present our requisite blueprint for buying affordable petroleum.
Obviously, Seattle, Washington represents the most isolated Lower-48 metropolis away from the Gulf of Mexico. Although Alaska, California, and the State of Washington are home to numerous oil refineries and enormous crude oil reserves within their own right, West Coast supply is always prone to disruption and the sheer distance from key Gulf Coast gasoline only exacerbates the upward pricing pressure volatility.
In addition to this geographic disadvantage, Olympia tax policy is notoriously excessive. According to The Tax Foundation, Washington motorists are shackled by the second most restrictive levies in the United States. Washington State’s .375-cent per gallon tax rate is topped only by New York.
The term “gas tax” is often open to interpretation with various states tacking on sales taxes, storage duties, and environmental cleanup costs onto the rolls at the register. However, Washington’s pure .375 gasoline tax will always compete with the total tax bill of the most egregious offenders from California to Illinois to New York State.
Seattle’s constricted landmass between the Puget Sound and Cascade Mountain range promulgates higher property costs and restricts commuter traffic flow towards I-5 and two floating bridge crossings at Lake Washington. Logically, the fusion of pricey real estate and “one way out” roadways will lend support to outrageous gasoline prices. Eager merchants will pass leasing costs onto consumers, while seeking to exploit the increased demand that arrives part and parcel with access to Seattle’s main bottlenecks.
I must speculate that California’s embrace of reformulated gasoline represents the key driver separating Seattle’s $2.820 price average from San Francisco and Los Angeles at $2.984 and $3.005, respectively. Expensive reformulated gasoline meets tighter U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards and is the required blend for all of California.
Now that we have properly analyzed the primary factors controlling Seattle gas prices, we will now delve two steps further into the matrix. We will proceed to offer guidance from both sides of the spectrum. This guide details the most expensive locations to buy gasoline in the Pacific Northwest, and closes with the presentation of competing service stations that offer cheap gas.
Where NOT to Buy Gas in Seattle
Expensive gas hugs SR 520 from Redmond, transitions into Bellevue, and spans Mercer Island at I-90 into downtown. The Eastside is home to Microsoft, Bellevue’s rapidly growing city center, and Seattle’s wealthier suburbs, while Mercer Island rests within Lake Washington and lists billionaire Paul Allen as a permanent resident.
Although the affluent may not blink at excessive energy costs, working class citizens that commute into these areas will scoff at the high prices. Currently, expensive gas is being pitched at the $3.00 watermark between Central Seattle and the East Side suburbs.
The Bellevue 76 at 2421 148th Avenue NE is charging patrons $2.89 for 87-octane and a cluster of competing Shell, Chevron, and Texaco service stations at Mercer Island’s I-90 and Island Crest Way interchange are hawking expensive fuel for $2.90 – $3.00.
Interestingly, Mercer Island and East Side gas prices trump those of downtown Seattle, where recordings typically span the $2.85-$2.90 mark. The 620 Denny Way Shell, adjacent to the Space Needle and Aurora Avenue / Battery Tunnel, represents the high priced Central Seattle outlier and torments frazzled drivers with a gaudy $3.05 offering for regular unleaded.
East Side motorists will seek relief at the Bellevue ARCO. ARCO is underselling the competition by 20 cents at 14650 Bel Pre Road in Bellevue to deliver regular grade gasoline for $2.67.
Per Central Seattle, ARCO is also posted up at the 20th and West Dravus Street gateway to the Magnolia section of the Queen City. ARCO is currently making sales for $2.73 at this location.
ARCO generally beats the prevailing West Coast competition by 10 to 20 cents.
Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Seattle
Aurora Avenue North from Green Lake to Shoreline is Seattle’s pocket for cheap gas. Take heed, Seattle’s former Main Drag has degenerated into an off and on industrial wasteland of prostitution, seedy motels, and drug pushers. Still, Aurora North crime has recently been curtailed, as strong initiatives take hold to revitalize the area; and travelers must recognize that Seattle’s North End is comparable to Candyland tranquility in relation to East Coast and industrial Midwest ghettos.
Cheap gas is for sale at $2.69 from Green Lake to the Seattle – Shoreline border, where prices jump immediately to $2.85 at the Shoreline 76. $2.85 also represents the going rate at the neighboring I-5 through Northgate into Seattle. Seattle motorists will exit The 5 Freeway at Northgate or 85th and head west to Highway 99 and Aurora for affordable gas.
Again, ARCO stands poised to accommodate smart consumers with stations located at both 85th Street and Northgate Way along Aurora Avenue North.
I do recognize that West Washington motorists may balk at the prospects of venturing towards Aurora and North Seattle for cheap gas. First, the strip continues to carry a seedy connotation. Secondly, Snohomish, Tacoma, and South Seattle drivers will dismiss the troubles of high tailing across town to save 20 cents per gallon as pure foolishness.
Renton and Everett are the requisite cheap gas locales to accommodate these savers on both sides of the Emerald City. Regular grade fuel is for sale from $2.60 – $2.65 at these suburbs, and commuters will enjoy convenient access to I-5 and I-405 to facilitate travel.
The SR 167 / Rainer Avenue and SR 900 Sunset Boulevard junction adjacent to the Renton Shopping center is the focal point for cheap gas between Seattle and Tacoma. Exxon, Chevron, ARCO, and 76 are all doing brisk business in the area by undercutting and outmuscling the competition.
Cheap gas is always a possibility at ARCO, Aurora Avenue, Everett, and Renton for thrifty Seattle residents.
Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Seattle, Sources:
The City of Seattle, http://www.seattle.gov/
The State of Washington, http://access.wa.gov/
Seattle Gas Prices, http://www.seattlegasprices.com/
