BOSTON – Gas prices have jumped 19 cents in just a week across Massachusetts, according to AAA, to $3.56 a gallon. If you can’t work remotely and have to commute into Boston on a daily basis, that extra money you’re spending adds up fast.
How much does a Boston commute cost?
WBZ-TV calculated the cost of various commutes across Massachusetts into Boston based on the mileage for our Ford Explorer Interceptor news car.
If you drive round-trip from Lynn to Boston five days a week, adding in the Tobin Bridge toll, it would cost $6.38 per day, $31.90 a week, and a whopping $127.60 per month. With the recent gas price hike, that monthly total is now $5.60 more than a month ago.
“It’s too expensive, can’t afford it,” said Scott Burke, who lives in Lynn. “I had a job opportunity in Boston. When I figured out the travel time and the mileage, the pay increase, it just didn’t do the math right.”
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If you live in Plymouth, that same 5 day a week commute adds up to $236 a month. In Brockton, it’s $145.20. Leominster is $285.20, and Franklin amounts to $253.20 a month.
Why are gas prices going up?
“We’re going to see prices kind of waffle a little bit as we head towards the peak, which is normally mid-June,” said Mark Schieldrop of AAA Northeast.
He said the biggest reason for this week’s jump has to do with the seasonal blend of gasoline. The summer blend includes more butane which prevents excess evaporation in the heat. That blend of gas costs gas stations more to buy wholesale.
“We switched to summer blend, so summer blend is more expensive than winter blend, and this year, the difference between the two was pretty stark,” Schieldrop told WBZ.
