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Rick Simmons, owner of Rick’s Custom Exhaust & Auto Repair, works on a truck Wednesday afternoon as scooters sit idle. Mr. Simmons hopes with the warmer weather sales will increase.

As temperatures rise, so does the price of gas.

The average price of unleaded gasoline in St. Joseph increased steadily by 21 cents this month, up to $2.45 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. Though the prices have currently plateaued, St. Joseph residents don’t think the freeze will last long in the heat.

“Gas is pretty high,” said St. Joseph native Kevin Brown. “It seems like they always change it in the summer, and make it higher for no reason.”

Mr. Brown owns a Kia Sedona and a Honda, but with his family of five, which includes two little girls still in booster seats, he has no choice but to drive the Sedona.

He said it can cost nearly $200 in gas alone to take a family trip to Branson and back in his van. But last summer’s family trip would have cost almost double that. The highest recorded unleaded gas price in St. Joseph was $3.89, on July 17, 2008.

Missouri’s average gas prices have continuously remained below the national average, which is currently $2.67.

“I don’t like the price, but everyone needs gas, so you’ve got to pay whatever they set it at,” Casey Jennings said as she filled the tank of her mother’s Mitsubishi Spyder.

Ms. Jennings said she just returned from a long-distance trip, and since she drives two “gas-guzzlers,” she borrowed her mother’s car to get better mileage.

“It seems like gas rises whenever I need it, and there is nothing I can do about it,” she said.

Kevin Thorp works for himself, using his diesel-fueled F-250 for major hauling and loading projects.

“I wish prices would go back down to where they were this winter,” Mr. Thorp said. In December, gas prices averaged $1.46. With gas prices higher, Mr. Thorp uses his smaller F-150 to travel longer distances, and has had to cut back on most summer travel plans.

While some residents feel the current gas prices are high, others see the opposite.

Rick Simmons, owner of Rick’s Custom Exhaust and Auto Repair, said a combination of a rainy spring and gas prices lower than last year have decreased scooter sales.

Nationwide, scooter sales were down 36.7 percent compared to last year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.

“Gas prices definitely hurt the sales,” Mr. Simmons said. “When fuel is down, a lot of people tend to look at other options.”

Even with gas prices lower than last year, AAA reported that with the unstable economy, it expects to see a 1.9 percent decrease in travelers taking trips of 50 miles or more this July 4th.

Keshia Curtis commutes to St. Joseph from Atchison, Kan., every day for work in her Ford Contour.

“Gas prices aren’t that bad,” Ms. Curtis said. “But I don’t want it to get any higher, because then they’d be ridiculous.”

Mr. Brown agrees, noting that everyone is having to work with a tighter budget this year.

“It’s better than what it was last year by far,” Mr. Brown said. “But hopefully they can get it back down under $2 again.”