As of Monday afternoon, some gas stations in Taft are still offering regular unleaded gasoline for $1.99 per gallon. While this would cause celebration in most cities, many in Taft residents and commuters say they would rather pay higher gas prices in exchange for more jobs in the oil-rich town.
"Gas prices are nice for the car. But it's very, very, very bad for our economy, because Taft is oil-based economy, and without the price of oil going up, our town goes down. Everyday someone's losing their job, because everything is oil based," said Linda Wallace, a Taft resident.
One of the gas stations offering the low price is the Outpost Food and Gas store. The owner said he lowered the price in hopes to help those financially struggling in the community.
"A lot of people these days are struggling with jobs, they don't have money. So we try to give profit and give everyone we can cheap prices," said Boota Sembra, owner of the Taft Outpost Food and Gas store.
