Rising gas prices have fleet owners in Philadelphia area watching out for cheap fuel

As the price at the gas pump increases, businesses are having to get creative. 

With regular unleaded going for an average of $3.74 in Philadelphia and about 20 cents cheaper in South Jersey, businesses are feeling it in their budgets.  Mike Matijkiw  manages a fleet of 80 trucks for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  He says when the cost per gallon goes up five cents, it costs AAA $35,000 more a year.

“We monitor where our drivers are buying fuel, we want to make sure the drivers are buying fuel at the cheapest that we can and we direct them where to go and where not to go,” said Matijkiw.

AAA uses a service that helps it find the cheapest gas available as its drivers assist cars broken down on the side of the road.

Everett Abitbol owns the company Freedom Taxi.  He says rising fuel costs mean drivers can’t afford to rent a cab and gas it up.

“We lowered our lease rates for our drivers so they actually cost less than the average Crown Victoria that’s leased out there on the market today,” said Abitbol.

Abitbol says some in his fleet are hybrids so they make the most of each gallon.