GAS PRICES TANK COMMUTER MOODS.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - With gasoline prices well past $2.70 for a gallon of regular unleaded, the cost of driving has finally registered in the minds - and pocketbooks - of local residents.

``I'm poor, I'm trying to go to school, I don't want to pay for gas,'' said Zack Winkler, 19, of Stevenson Ranch, who commutes to California State University, Fullerton, several times a week. He pumped $30 of regular into his Chevrolet Yukon - enough for a few days.

The Automobile Club of Southern California on Monday pegged the average price at $2.75 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area. The average price for a gallon of premium is $2.98. For diesel - $3.10. They're not expected to ease until after Labor Day, experts say.

Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said prices could hit $3 a gallon if the up trend continues. Though whether drivers would actually change behavior depends on their resources, and how much their lives are tied to gasoline.

``I think it means different things to different people,'' he said. ``Demand hasn't really backed off. ... It depends on who you're talking to and how much of a role gasoline plays in people's lives.''

Unabated global demand, a bout of refinery troubles and high crude prices - a barrel was trading at $66.35 Monday - helped bolster prices at the pump. The latest Energy Department data show regular unleaded gasoline averaging $2.55 a gallon nationwide, or 67.5 cents above year-ago levels. At the same time, daily gasoline demand is up 1 percent compared with last year.

All this translates to countless sighs as drivers look at their gas receipts.

``It's ridiculous,'' said Mark Dillon, 41, of Castaic, who just pumped $70 of mid-grade gasoline into his Chevy Silverado pickup. ``When I was a kid getting gas for my dad's lawn mower, it was 50 cents a gallon.

``I have a motorcycle, so I'll be taking that to work more (to Van Nuys). I suppose around here, you have to drive to get anywhere. You don't have a good mass-transit system. Driving is a must.''

Tommy Schmidt, 18, watched gas prices slowly creep up from $2.60 to more than $2.80 a gallon as he drove south from his home in Carmel. He is starting college in San Diego.

``It's actually pretty bad,'' he said, filling up his six-cylinder pickup. ``I got a smaller truck so I could save more gas - took it down a couple of cylinders. But with the higher prices, it doesn't seem like it changed.''

A home repairman, Jorge Hernandez, 25, said the higher gas prices have convinced him to make fewer house calls - he tries to solve more problems over the phone.

``It's just too much,'' said Hernandez, filling up his Nissan Titan pickup. ``Before, I would drive around a lot. Now I just help people over the phone as much as I can.''

Though he said he's not ready to sacrifice his private life - meeting friends, movies - just to save a few trips.

``It's still the same,'' Hernandez said. ``I can't just change my life because of gas prices. You've got to decide your priorities.''

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

A gas station employee changes prices Monday at a Shell station on Lyons Avenue in Newhall.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer