Even the independent stations that are known for lower gas prices have been forced to charge higher prices.

"Everyone is buying from the same refiners and prices have skyrocketed," Rotten Robbie President Jerry Cummings said.

Bigger gas companies such as Chevron and Valero have their own refineries, Cummings said; they have not been hit as hard as the independents that get their gas directly or indirectly from one of five refineries in the Bay Area.

"People come to us because we are just as cheap as anyone around, but our prices go up faster than the larger companies do," he said.

As a result, Cummings said he can't be as competitive as the major gas companies.

"People are looking for places with lower prices and currently, these are the major brand stations," Cummings said.

On Sept. 7, the Rotten Robbie on the corner of Lincoln and Garfield avenues in Willow Glen was selling unleaded at $2.99, unleaded plus at $3.09 and unleaded super at $3.19.

John Melton, a regular customer at the station, said prices everywhere else are about the same and that's why he still pumps here.

The rise in prices put a crimp in his family's Labor Day plans. Melton and his family often went camping for Labor Day, but this year they stayed home.

"It's too expensive to travel," he said.

Melton, an electrician, said the gas hike has also affected his work.

"I'm driving to Half Moon Bay for a job right now and I have to fill up," he said.

Before the hike, Melton said he was paying $40 to fill his commercial van. Now his gas is costing him between $60 and $65.

"I've to turn down jobs that are too far from here because customers refuse to pay for the gas," he said. "It's too expensive."

The Valero gas station just down the street on the corner of Willow Street and Lincoln Avenue has the same prices at Rotten Robbie.

"The gas hike is painful but maybe it's not such a bad thing," Willow Glen resident Greg House said. "Maybe people will get in better shape with the added exercise of walking and riding bikes."

House, a regular customer at Rotten Robbie, hopes there will be less pollution as the result of fewer cars on the road.

House now rides his bicycle to work and walks whenever possible.

"It makes me more careful about where I drive, and I multitask more," he said.

Xuejun Li-Smith, a Willow Glen resident and regular at the same station, says she too is driving less often.

Further south on Lincoln Avenue, the Shell and Chevron stations on the corner of Curtner Avenue have been charging customers even more to fill their tanks.

Prices at the Shell Station as of Sept. 7 were $3.09, $3.19 and $3.39. The prices at the Chevron were a few pennies lower on Sept. 7: $3.05, $3.15 and $3.25.

Marcell Rad, manager at the Shell, said it is still business as usual.

He acknowledged that the Labor Day holiday was slow.

"We can't compete with the Chevron across the street because they are corporately owned and don't have to worry about a loss like we do," Rad said.

"If we bring down the price, Chevron can afford to go lower," he said.

Clay Wescott, a Willow Glen resident and a regular at the Chevron, said the price hike is costing him $75 a week to fill the tank of his work truck.

"I'm on the road everyday, it's my job and it's affecting my bottom line," Wescott said. "I have to figure gas into my prices."