California gasoline tax rises July 1st: the big picture

California gas prices set to rise

Gasoline prices will tick up almost two cents a gallon next month as prices to repair, improve and build streets, roads and highways continue to rise.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Gasoline prices will tick up almost two cents a gallon next month as prices to repair, improve and build streets, roads and highways continue to rise. 

The annual automatic state gasoline excise tax increases by 1.6 cents July first.

The cost of fuel frequently leads commuters to search for the best deals on gas in their areas. That's why there's always a line at Mill Valley's ARCO. 

"This place is good. This is the only place I get gas. There's one other place in Mill Valley but everything else is like a buck more than this," said Arco customer James Wintermute.

Professor Severin Borenstein, energy economist at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business Energy Institute, puts that 1.6 cent increase in perspective. 

"The average household consumes about a thousand gallons per year in California. A typical household is going to pay about an extra sixteen dollars a year," Borenstein said.

This annual increase replaced a gasoline sales tax that helped the state when gas prices spiked. 

"It was set in order to – each year – adjust so that it generates about the same amount of revenue. Now, instead of it changing every week, as the price of gasoline goes up and down, it changes once a year," Borenstein said.

What the commuters say:

Drivers still don't like it when you consider that overall gas taxes will cost the average household $612 a year. 

In addition to that, consumers may soon see another 13 to 17 cents per gallon increase in order to pay for an incentive that is given to fuel providers to lower the carbon content of their fuels.

Customer reactions at ARCO cited many concerns. 

"Particularly with what's going on in the Middle East, gas… is going to be one of the worst things because it trickles down to everything," said customer Debby Boyce Smith. 

"It really seems unfair that something that is kind of our lifeblood is taken advantage of," said customer Sol Gonzalez.

Others said that added costs make summer travel a little more undesirable. 

"I travel a lot with my husband and my family. We go on a lot of road trips and everything. It's so expensive for us to go," said Karla Arriaga.

"For the rest of the year, I'm not looking forward to paying more at the pump every time I come in. I think taxes are definitely affecting my ability to get around the Bay Area," said Reza Shahabedin, whose big pickup truck has a 36-gallon tank.