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E) NOW FOR SOME FACTS AND FIGURES – DRIVERS ARE
GETTING A LITTLE RELIEF THIS WEEK- AS THE PER GALLON
PRICE STOPPED SOARING.
ACCORDING TO THE U-S ENERGY DEPARTMENT- THE
NATIONAL PUMP PRICE FELL TO A DOLLAR 65 PER GALLON
ON MONDAY- BUT THAT’S STILL 55 CENTS A GALLON-
MORE THAN WE WERE PAYING A YEAR AGO.
HARDEST HIT—THE MID WEST. EVEN THOUGH PRICES
HAVE DROPPED MORE THAN 25 CENTS A GALLON- IT’S
STILL ONE- DOLLAR SEVENTY NINE.
GULF COAST STATES HAVE THE CHEAPEST FUEL- WHY THE
DIFFERENCE?
A LOT OF THINGS EFFECT GAS PRICES-
INCLUDING WEATHER, WORLD ECONOMY, OIL PRODUCTION,
TRANSPORTATION – SHIPPING AND CONSUMPTION.
(E) WHICH LEADS YOU TO WONDER-- OTHER THAN NOT
DRIVING—CAN WE DO ANYTHING TO CONTROL HOW MUCH WE
SPEND ON GASOLINE?
THE ANSWER IS YES---AND NO "NEED TO KNOW’S"
JENNIFER REED EXPLORES WHAT’S IN AND OUT OF OUR
CONTROL…
Producer: Jennifer Lee Reed
((Nat Sound: Running Pump))
>>REP: WHEN THE NUMBERS ARE CLIMBING THIS
FAST---YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT THINKING ABOUT WORLD
OIL PRODUCTION-
>>MOS BITE: DAN ROBB
>>REP:
((CARTEL)) BUT OIL PRODUCING
NATIONS AND REFINERIES PROBABLY AREN’T THINKING
MUCH ABOUT US EITHER ((
LOCAL VID)) AS THE PRICE OF
GASOLINE IN ROCHESTER TOPS THE DOLLAR-64 MARK- THEY’RE
THINKING ABOUT SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
((NEWSHOUR @ 02:17::39))
>>BOB SLAUGHTER/NATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL
& REFINERS ASSOCIATION: "Refiners need to
do everything they can to meet increase and demand
for both gasoline and diesel- we’ve not built a
refinery in America for over 25 years." ((Butt
to 02:15:44))
>>VAHAN ZANOYAN/PETROLEUM FINANCE COMPANY:
"It’s high demand- also at least ten years of
neglect in the United States. We’ve had at least a
decade of extrememly fast economic growth-
unprecedented economic growth. It generates more
demand."
>>REP STANDUP: WE
ALREADY KNOW THAT OIL PRODUCTION IS SOMETHING YOU
AND I HAVE NO DIRECT SAY OVER- AND YET, WE’RE
DIRECTLY EFFECTED--- THIS TIME- LAST YEAR, YOU COULD
TOP OFF YOUR TANK AT A BUCK-17 A GALLON— THAT’S
ALMOST A 50-CENT DIFFERENCE--
IF YOU TAKE AN AVERAGE SIZE TANK— FILLING UP IS
GOING TO COST YOU ABOUT EIGHT MORE DOLLARS EACH
TRIP-
((BACK TO LOCAL VIDEO HERE-PAYING FOR GAS))
>>REP: AND IF YOU FILL UP ONCE A WEEK- YOU’RE
NOW LOOKING AT PAYING OUT ANOTHER FOUR-HUNDRED
DOLLARS THIS YEAR IN GAS- THERE’S NO WAY TO GET
AROUND THAT!
>>MOS BUDGET BITE: SARAH DURKEE
>>REP: ((MEETING-NEWSHOUR))
THE PUNDITS CLAIM IT’LL TAKE
MORE THAN INCREASED PRODUCTION TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM-
AND THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION HAS ALREADY
LAUNCHED AN OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION- LOOKING INTO
THINGS LIKE COLLUSION AND PRICE GOUGING.
((Louise Slaughter TC: 16:32:29))
>>Louise Slaughter: "We’re being
gouged. It happened in the North East last Winter.
We had to pay enormous prices. They cut back our
production and they’re making enourmous profits.
The average profit for these gas companies is about
400 to 500-percent this year. It’s very
unconscientable.
((Butt to NEWSHOUR @ 02:08:50))
>>BOB SLAUGHTER: "Whenever there is a
supply disruption that has price impact- the
industry is investigating- on a State level, on a
Federal level- we expect it. It’s part of the
Democratic process and everyone of these
investigations basically finds no wrongdoing on the
part of the industry- complete absolution and we
expect that in this case as well. Refiners are doing
what they do best- which is to supply gasoline to
consumers and all of these reports, all of these
studies essentially find that we’re
faultless."
>>REP: BUT WHO’S PROTECTING THE CONSUMER?
((NEWSHOUR VID))
OPEC’S PRESIDENT SAYS IF U-S GOVERNMENTS WANT TO
BRING THE PRICE OF OIL DOWN- THEY SHOULD
"QUOTE- LESSEN THE TAX BURDEN ON THE
CONSUMER".
>> REPORTER STAND UP: IF
NEW YORK STATE AND MONROE COUNTY DECIDED TO—THEY
COULD REDUCE THE COST OF GAS BY ABOUT 28-CENTS A
GALLON-- THAT MAY MAKE CONSUMERS HAPPIER AT THE PUMP—
>> REPORTER
NEW STANDUP LOCATION: BUT NOT
SO HAPPY- WHEN ONGOING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS- LIKE
THIS BRIDGE ON 441- GET BACKED UP- BECAUSE OF LACK
OF FUNDING—FUNDING THAT COMES DIRECTLY FROM THE
GAS TAX.
>>REPORTER STAND UP ((COUNTY SIGN)):
LAST YEAR, MONROE COUNTY COLLECTED 11-MILLION
DOLLARS IN SALES TAX REVENUE- REVENUE FROM GASOLINE
AND DIESEL FUEL- FOR EACH DOLLAR COLLECTED- ABOUT
70-CENTS OF IT WENT TO THE CITY, TOWNS AND SCHOOL
DISTRICTS- THE OTHER 30-CENTS STAYED IN THE COUNTY…
((NEIGHBORHOOD B’ROLL))
>>SO IF THE COUNTY PULLED ITS THREE-CENT
TAX ON GAS- THAT 11-MILLION WOULD HAVE TO COME FROM
SOMEWHERE ELSE-
IT’S A CASE OF PAY NOW OR PAY LATER— WHICH
WOULD PROBABLY MEAN INCREASED PROPERTY TAXES.
IF THE GAS PRICES STAY THE SAME- AND IF THE GAS
TAX STAYS THE SAME- BY THE END OF THE YEAR, MONROE
COUNTY WILL HAVE COLLECTED AN ADDITIONAL THREE
MILLION DOLLARS IN GAS TAX THIS YEAR.
I’M GARY WALKER AND YOU’RE WATCHING
"NEED TO KNOW"- JOINING ME IN STUDIO ARE
JIM VER STEEG- FROM TRIPLE A AND DUANE NEU- WHO
RECENTLY RETIRED AS THE PRESIDENT OF R.G.D.A.-
ROCHESTER’S GASOLINE DEALERS ASSOCIATION.
TALK POINTS …
G) WE’LL BE BACK TO TALK MORE ABOUT GASOLINE
PRICES- DON’T FORGET TO LOG ONTO OUR WEBSITE—WXXI
DOT ORG—CLICK ON COMMUNITY AND JOIN IN THE
DISCUSSION—PLUS READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS PROGRAM.
ELISSA?
(E) THE HIGH GAS PRICES HAVE GIVEN RISE TO
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE PURCHASE OF SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND OTHER CARS THAT CAN BE EXPENSIVE TO
FILL UP.
WHAT WE DRIVE---AND WHERE WE DRIVE— ARE TWO
THINGS THAT ARE IN OUR CONTROL- AT LEAST WHEN IT
COMES TO THE PRICE OF GAS.
"NEED TO KNOW’S" MATT CUMMINGS FOUND
OUT WHETHER ROCHESTER IS WILLING TO CATCH A RIDE--
((***PKG***))
Produced by: Matt Cummings
Devell Taylor: I think it’s outrageous man. I
think it’s outrageous. I’m drving a suburban.
This thing will take, 15 dollars might take you to a
quarter tank.
REPORTER: BUT THESE DRIVERS ARE STILL PUMPING
GAS INTO THEIR CARS. EVEN AS COMMUTER FRUSTRATION
CONTINUES TO GROW
Devell Taylor: It used to cost me 25 dollars. Now
it’s costing me almost 35, 36 bucks.
REPORTER: THERE IS A CHEAPER WAY, NOT A NEW WAY,
BUT A CHEAPER WAY. ONE THAT’S BEEN AROUND FOR A
LONG TIME. AND ONE PUBLIC OFFICIALS SAW COMING LONG
BEFORE THE FINGERPOINTING AT OPEC AND OIL LEADERS .
REPORTER: FOR YEARS YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO SIT
BACK AND ENJOY YOUR DAILY COMMUTE ABOARD A PUBLIC
BUS. BUT EVEN WITH ESCALATING GAS PRICES, MOST
COMMUTERS STILL PREFER THE SANCTUARY OF THEIR OWN
CAR.
Clarzell Minor: I’m like most people. A car is
a absolute necessity. So like I said before you take
it in the chine and keep on going.
REPORTER: BUT BOB FRYE OF THE ROCHESTER GENESEE
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY WANTS TO HELP
PEOPLE AVOID TAKING IT ON THE CHIN BY PROFILING THE
PEOPLE WHO ALREADY RIDE THE BUS TO WORK.
Bob Frye: Eighty percent of our riders are using
our service to and from work. The park and ride
service is a service whereby we provide public
transportation for people in the suburbs and bring
them to jobs in the city.
Bob Frye: And we did see actually an increase in
ridership in those routes in recent months which we
attribute to probably the cost of gasoline. We saw
for example in January there was a 10 percent
increase in park and ride ridership over January of
the previous year. And in each month since then, we’ve
seen an increase over the prior year of park and
ride. From 5 to 6 percent.
REPORTER: MAYBE. BUT THIS HALF EMPTY COMMUTER
LOT IS TESTAMENT TO SOMETHING ELSE FRYE SAYS :
Bob Frye: Very frankly, it’s a difficult
challenge to try to compete with the private
automobile.
REPORTER: FRYE SAYS THOSE INCREASES HAVE BROUGHT
THE NUMBER OF LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSIT USERS TO 14
MILLION PEOPLE, COVERING ABOUT 8 MILLION MILES
ANNUALLY. HE SAYS THEY ARE REFLECTIVE OF GROWING
CONSUMER FRUSTRATION WITH RISING GAS PRICES. BUT
DESPITE THAT FRUSTRATION, FRYE SAYS COMMUTERS IN OUR
REGION AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE RELUCTANT TO GIVE
UP THEIR CARS.
Bob Frye: One of the difficulties in that is that
truly we don’t have a big traffic congestion
problem in this area. So congestion is not a great
reason why someone might choose to use pbulic
transportation.
REPORTER: MAYBE. BUT TRAFFIC CONGESTION IS
THE MAIN REASON CAROL GILLESPIE RIDES THE BUS
BETWEEN HER LAW FIRM, AND HER HOME IN PITTSFORD
Carol Gillispie: I like it because I don’t have
to do any driving. I can relax. After a long day and
you don’t want to worry about the traffic. It’s
less wear and tear on your car. I don’t have to
put as much gas in it. I have more gas for on the
wekends when I do other driving outside of work.
REPORTER: BUT IF CAROL COMMUTED BETWEEN
SUBURBS, IT’D BE A DIFFERENT STORY.
Bob Frye: Can I get you from Greece to Penfield?
I can’t get you there as conveniently and as
quickly as you could get there driving your own
automobile. No. We can’t do that. We’re working
to improve that in the future. But certainly we can
do that in an inexpensive mode.
REPORTER: AND FRYE SAYS IT’S THE EXPENSE OF
DRIVING YOUR CAR THAT MAY MAKE PEOPLE THINK TWICE
ABOUT NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION. AFTER ADDING UP THE COST OF
GASOLINE, INSURANCE, PARKING AND WEAR AND TEAR ON
YOUR CAR, FRYE SAYS YOU’RE PROBABLY PAYING 40
CENTS PER MILE YOU DRIVE.
Bob Frye: Easily 220 to 250 dollars a month you’re
going to pay if you’re driving your car back and
forth versus 75 dollars a month for public transit.
It’s a cheaper alternative. No question about
that.
REP: BUT IF YOU JUST CAN’T GET EXCITED ABOUT
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND YOU LOVE YOUR OWN CAR,
HERE’S AN ENVIRONMENTALLY AND COST FRIENDLY
ALTERNATIVE. AN ELECTRIC AND GASOLINE HYBRID THAT
GETS UP TO 70 MILES TO THE GALLON. THIS ONE BY HONDA
IS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL THAT ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW UP
ON THE MARKET. BY COMBINING AN ELECTRIC MOTOR WITH A
TRADITIONAL GAS ENGINE, THIS CAR IS CERTIFIED AS AN
ULTRA LOW EMISSION VEHICLE. BUT FRYE THINKS PUBLIC
TRANSIT HAS IT’S PLACE.
Bob Frye: We have to try to select markets. We
certainly can’t be all things to all people. But
if you have a planned trip and you know we can get
you there at a certain point in time and we can get
you there in a cheap and efficient manner, then you
might choose us as an alternative.
(G) THE PARK AND RIDE IS ONE OF THREE PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES OFFERED BY OUR
TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY-
THE R-G-R-T-A COVERS A FIVE-COUNTY REGION- OTHER
SERVICES INCLUDE LIFT-LINE AND R-T-S.
I’M GARY WALKER AND YOU’RE WATCHING
"NEED TO KNOW"- JOINING ME IN STUDIO ONCE
AGAIN ARE JIM VERSTEEG- FROM TRIPLE A AND DUANE NEU-FORMER
PRESIDENT OF R.G.D.A.- ROCHESTER’S GASOLINE
DEALERS ASSOCIATION.
TALK POINTS…
G) MANY THANKS TO OUR GUESTS …IF YOU WOULD LIKE
TO PUT IT YOUR TWO-CENTS ON GAS PRICES--- JUST VISIT
OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WXXI.ORG
AND CLICK ON COMMUNITY- THERE YOU CAN DISCUSS
YOUR VIEWS WITH OTHER VIEWERS-
(E) NEXT WEEK – BOB SMITH WILL BE TALKING ABOUT
THE PRICE OF GAS ON 1370 CONNECTION.
HE’LL BE TAKING YOUR CALLS AND TALKING WITH A
HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH PROFESSOR- WHO SAYS HE SAW
THE WHOLE THING COMING.
THAT’S ON 1370 CONNECTION WITH BOB SMITH—
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5TH AT ONE O’CLOCK.
E) AND THAT’S NEED TO KNOW FOR THIS WEEK…
(G) NEXT WEEK WE DISCUSS THE DEATH PENALTY- NEW
POLITICAL FEED-BACK IN THE WAKE OF A CELEBRATED
LOCAL CASE.
THAT’S NEXT WEEK ON NEED TO KNOW-
(E) WE’LL SEE YOU THEN. |