What makes the gasoline in New Martinsville so extraordinary that it costs 26 to 38 cents more than anywhere else in the Ohio Valley?

On the weekend of Sept. 10 I traveled to Pittsburgh where gasoline prices averaged $2.47 per gallon. In Weirton the average price was $2.63. I bought gasoline at the Martins Ferry Sunoco station for $2.57 per gallon on Sept. 12.

Imagine my disbelief upon arriving in New Martinsville less than an hour later to find gasoline prices at $2.95 per gallon. Even in Paden City the gasoline was only $2.69.

This leads me to come to the conclusion that the station owners in New Martinsville are running a monopoly on gas prices. Some may even call this practice “price gouging.”

Of course these are the same people that will tell you that the gasoline companies set the current prices. My question is if BP and Sunoco both “set” their price at $2.95 in New Martinsville, then why can you travel 35 miles up the river and buy BP gas for $2.67 and get Sunoco for $2.57?

I suggest to every consumer that we stop letting the station owners in New Martinsville “take us for a ride,” and buy our gasoline somewhere else.

Sincerely,

Rick Rutter

Paden City