Among dozens of people interviewed this week, only one wasn’t concerned about [tag]fuel prices[/tag]. But she was riding a small motor scooter that gets 86 miles to the gallon. “It costs me less than $4 to fill it up once every two weeks,” said Sheryll Perez, 19, of [tag]Clearwater[/tag]. “The only thing I worry about is getting caught in the rain.” In the Tampa Bay area, the average [tag]price of a gallon of regular gas[/tag] hit $2.92 on Tuesday, and some stations were as high as $2.99. Mid-grade and premium were well over $3 in many locations, and [tag]diesel[/tag] averaged $2.93.

Among those who can’t avoid their cars are real estate agents, several of whom report driving up to 2,500 miles a month. “We’re already reeling from a slowdown in the market, and now these prices are piling on,” said Alayne Shagane of Realty Express in Tampa. “A lot more Realtors are doing preliminary work on the internet, narrowing choices to cut their driving.”
And some, she said, are shifting the burden to clients. “They’re having clients do prescreening,” Shagane said. “A client might want to see an area or a school ahead of time, and a Realtor might tell him to get in his car on Saturday and go look, and if you’re still interested, call me on Sunday.”

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