Gas prices have risen ever since COVID-19 came to the United States and became a pandemic in 2020. In Colorado Springs, the price of unleaded gas has gone up from around $3 to $6 per gallon. Not only has the prices really affected adult drivers, they’ve taken an even bigger toll on teenage drivers. 

High school teenagers already have a lot on their plate in their lives. They have to make sure all of their schoolwork is turned in on time and done to perfection, some teenagers have a job on top of their schoolwork so they can save up money for their life after school ends, and to keep their social life up, they join clubs or sports activities. Most juniors and seniors have cars to get around to school or their job and that involves them to put a good amount of money into it in order to repair it or, for example, pay for gas. 

The gas price increase has caused teens to put extra money into their car that they could have been using on other things, such as money for school, money for food, or money for clothes or to even have some spending money. Teenagers invest in smaller, less reliable vehicles that don’t take as much gas just to save money. Gas prices have made teenagers go into financial debt which causes an increase in stress. 

There is hope for getting the best deal and gas prices. There are apps that help with advertising lower gas prices, such as Upside, and the GasBuddy website. The Upside app is an app that can be downloaded on smartphones and the app essentially lists the lowest gas prices as well as grocery store discount prices in the local area. The Upside app offers promo codes that work for different stores and gas stations and offers discount deals. GasBuddy is a website that offers similar deals as the Upside app does, except that it only shows gas prices and not store discounts. GasBuddy shows local county gas prices and shows the prices in order from the less expensive to the more expensive prices to show the best prices results first. 

Teenage drivers have a lot of responsibilities which requires a lot of money taken out of their budget, money that most teens don’t even have in their bank account. The main responsibility is gas and with the gas prices so high, it eats up a tremendous amount of money. Even with the help of the GasBuddy website and the Upside app, gas has still been a problem and has affected teen’s mental health. 

David Bruce: Is there an Upside to getting a gas saving app? (june 30, 2022). Goerie. Retrieved October 21, 2022 from https://www.goerie.com/story/business/2022/06/30/david-bruce-upside-app-helps-save-money-on-gas-purchases/65362253007/

GasBuddy: https://www.gasbuddy.com/ 

Lasting Impacts of a Gas Price Shock during Teenage Driving Years. (October 10, 2019). NBER. Retrieved october 21, 2022 from https://www.nber.org/digest/oct19/lasting-impacts-gas-price-shock-during-teenage-driving-years

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