Gas briefly at $3 per gallon of regular unleaded in Crawfordsville

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WLFI) - It's a story that never sleeps: the price of gasoline. For some area drivers Thursday, they weren't waking up to a nightmare but a pleasant surprise.

According to gasbuddy.com , gas prices across the Greater Lafayette area varied greatly Thursday. In Newton and Jasper counties, gas prices were as high as $4 per gallon of regular unleaded. Just to the south in Lafayette, prices ranged anywhere from $3.50 to $3.55. In Crawfordsville Thursday, unleaded fuel went for less than $3 per gallon.

To put it in perspective, the last time the U.S. average cost per gallon of regular unleaded was $3 was in January of 2011.

So it was no surprise when people saw the $3 mark in Crawfordsville, they were thrilled. The thrill didn't last long though. Nearly every gas station along U.S. 231 by the afternoon hours raised prices back to $3.49, except for one, which created lines up to 10 cars long per pump.

Drivers told News 18 they want answers on what appeared to be a tease at the pump.

"We want to know why," a Crawfordsville driver said. "It's highway robbery."

"Someone should explain why it can change that fast and that much," another Crawfordsville driver said.

"For the prices to go up from $3 to $3.50 in just a few minutes... it's insanity," a third driver said.

Those waiting in the long lines said it was worth the wait to save the $0.50 per gallon. Some even went as far to say the oil companies aren't looking out for the everyday consumer.

"People are struggling and live paycheck to paycheck," Crawfordsville driver Dawn Everman said. "The powers that be say it's going to go for $3.60, or $3.40, do they live paycheck to paycheck?"

The Indiana Attorney General's Office along with the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy monitor gasoline prices. The Indiana Attorney General's Office investigates discrepancies with gas prices, including gas gouging. You can make a formal complaint about a specific station online and the agency will look into it. You can also contact the AG office at (317) 232-6330 or 1 (800) 382-5516.