Where to Buy Cheap Gas in San Antonio, Texas

Cheap gas is par for the course in San Antonio, as Texans always enjoy access to the most prolific oil fields and refinery capacity of the Lower-48 U.S. Indeed, the July 6, 2009 San Antonio gas price average of $2.421, does undercut the $2.612 U.S. Department of Energy regular grade calculation by a wide margin.

Texas motorists crying Uncle over $2.50 gas will receive no love lost from Californians, Chicagoans, and New York drivers who must pony up $3.30 to buy one gallon of 87-octane gasoline.

Crude oil costs and taxes comprise 70% of gasoline charges at the pump. State gasoline taxes and geographic proximity to the Gulf Coast primarily account for interstate price variance. Furthermore, the wealth effect that arrives from transacting business within exclusive neighborhoods, along with access to critical traffic arteries promulgates general price disparities at the local level.

San Antonio drivers must acknowledge these separate factors and learn to play the angles to buy cheap gas.

In addition to the sheer abundance of Lone Star State crude oil reserves, the Austin legislature remains particularly friendly towards petroleum consumers.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, Texas levies a flat 20-cent per gallon excise tax on top of the 18.4-cent per gallon Federal tax. The combined 38.4-cent per gallon tax rate is undercut by only 9 other states in the Union.

Per San Antonio, typical Texas style sprawl prevails. The abundance of land keeps real estate values in check, and these savings are passed onto the gasoline consumer at the register. However, enormous Texas freeways, ugly service drives, and towering stack interchanges have emerged part and parcel with said sprawl.

I must label San Antonio's over reliance upon freeway build out, at the expense of public transportation, as the lone factor that is detrimental to cheap gas.

Of course, affordable San Antonio fuel remains very much in abundance. Ironically, the majority of this guide will be concerned with areas that must be avoided at all costs, rather than specific zones of value. Cheap gas is the rule in San Antonio and shall be procured in all directions within this military town.

Where NOT to Buy Gas in San Antonio

Do not buy gas at any locale associated with San Antonio royalty. The San Antonio elite includes, but is not limited to, the Spurs, Tommie Lee Jones, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. These exclusive neighborhoods include the Tri Cities of Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, and Terrell Hills, and extend north between Culebra Road, I.H. - 10 and U.S. 281 through Bexar County towards Loop 1604.

Do not buy gas at the Tri Cities into San Antonio's Far North Central and Northwest Side. The Reserve at the Dominion marks the outskirts of Northwest San Antonio between I.H. - 10 and Camp Bullis. The Dominion is often cited as the region's most exclusive community and is a gated center for palatial estates, which house "The Admiral" David Robinson and various Spurs legends.

Although the well heeled will not blink at the register, working-class San Antonians commuting into these areas remain confounded by high gas prices and seek immediate relief.

Citgo is peddling regular unleaded gasoline for $2.62 at 6644 Tezel Road; and the Bitters Road Valero, just off the Loop 1604 enters the fray at $2.49.

U.S. 281 / San Pedro Avenue represents a diagonal swath of the $2.49 price point from between Loop 1604 and Loop 410 through San Antonio's tonier cul de sacs. Interestingly, the most expensive Bexar County readings mark residential neighborhoods, rather than commercial centers.

Northwest and North Central consumers must note that prices plunge precipitously at SR 16 Bandera Road into Leon Valley and at all service stations immediately northeast of the airport. Citgo peddles $2.33 gas at 7526 Bandera Road, while Thousand Oaks Lane is a pocket of cheap $2.35 gas between McAllister Park and Schertz Road.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas in San Antonio

Cheap gas is the rule at San Antonio, and prices always fall towards the $2.30 - $2.40 range between the freeways. The aforementioned Bandera Road and Thousand Oaks Lane corridors exemplify this price action. These two routes represent pockets of cheap gas that are situated between both Loops and U.S. 281 and I.H. 35.

Inner Loop motorists will also discover that gas prices drop at Austin Highway. For example, service stations congregating at Austin, Harry Warzbach, and Eisenhauer Road, currently flash $2.30 - $2.35 gas, while gas prices spike to $2.45 at the Loop 410 and I.H. 35 junctions that lay directly to the east.

I recognize that San Antonio drivers may dismiss the idea of venturing deep into the northerly reaches of this city and away from the freeway to save 10 cents per gallon.

Hence, I would recommend Exxon's 2618 S. Zarzamora Street location as San Antonio's best combination of price and location. Exxon is currently hawking gas for $2.39 at the corner of Zarzamora and Darby Boulevard southwest of downtown.

Interestingly, the surface level streets at the Collins Gardens section of San Antonio feature limited access to and from the 371, U.S. 90, 10, and 35 freeways. Perhaps the dearth of complete diamond interchanges and ramps onto Zarzamora is the rationale behind Exxon's low price.

Heady consumers must utilize combinations of I.H. 35 / Pan Am Expressway service roads, Theo / Malone Avenue, and Kirk Place to access the area.

Cheap gas is plentiful at San Antonio in all directions.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas in San Antonio, Texas, Sources:

The City of San Antonio, http://www.sanantonio.gov/

Automotive.com, San Antonio Gas Prices, http://www.automotive.com/gas-prices/33/texas/bexar/san-antonio/index.html

GasBuddy.com, San Antonio Gas Prices, http://www.sanantoniogasprices.com/