Gas prices lower in Arco

When the summer travel season comes to an end, gas prices typically go down. In Arco, gas is under $3.25. In places like Idaho Falls it costs 30 cents more to fill up.

Gas in Arco is a lot cheaper than in Idaho Falls even though it’s more expensive for the stations to buy it in Arco.

“Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot is closer to the pipeline than we are.The farther out you are from the pipeline, the more money you pay to have it delivered,” said Rose Bernal, the owner of a gas station in Arco. She said her markup is pretty minimal.

“We try to stay very competitive with the bigger cities because if people go there they’ll just fill up if we’re a lot more money, so we just try to stay very competitive,” Bernal said.

She said most of the money a gas station earns actually comes the convenience store.

“You can’t really run a gas station on fuel. In fact, there would be no way to do that. If all I was selling was gas I’d be out of business in a week,” Bernal said.

She also says there is more competition in Idaho Falls.

“At times they’re losing money on gas,” she said. “There’s a gas station on every corner there, and I know that it’s just hard for them.”

Other local gas station owners were not able to speak on camera, but they did say gas typically costs more in bigger cities.

According to gasbuddy.com, the average price of gas in Idaho has fallen 3.6 cents per gallon in the past week.

To see current gas prices in eastern Idaho, click here.