Not so Happy New Year at the gas pumps

That didn't take long.

Everyone knew that the state's massive, $2.3 billion transportation bill was going to mean forking over more money at the gas pumps.

Retailers wasted no time in passing along the new costs.

The stations I passed on the way in this morning showed gas prices up anywhere from 7 cents to in some cases a dime.

This is only the first of a series of increases that will be connected to the transportation bill.

The state Department of Revenue said gasoline taxes are going up by 9.5 cents per gallon while diesel taxes are going up by almost 13 cents per gallon. The tax increase applies only to transportation fuels and a number of fuel distributors and gas station owners say they plan to pass along the higher wholesale cost.

According to AAA, the Pennsylvania gas average was $3.48 per gallon Tuesday, up 5 cents in the last week. Diesel was $4 per gallon. The national average was $3.32 per gallon of gas and $3.87 per gallon of diesel. The higher fuel taxes are the key element of major transportation funding legislation approved in November by Gov. Tom Corbett and state lawmakers in an effort to stem a rising backlog of bridges, highways and mass transit agency facilities in need of repairs or modernization.

Everyone knew the hikes were coming. Most agree the money is needed to fix the state's crumbling infrastructure and for mass transit.

It doesn't make it any easier to swallow.

And have you ever noticed how quickly prices go up, but how slowly they come down when conditions change.

Yeah, me too.

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