It’s no secret that Los Angeles is one of the costliest areas of the country in which to drive and one of the most traffic-congested, to boot. So with gasoline prices at their lowest level since 1994, will local businesses feel any relief? The Business Journal Forum asks:

Has the drop in gasoline prices impacted your business?

Dave Blair

Owner

Dave Blair Plumbing

Yes, it’s helped in a small way. We try to make every dollar profit count. We watch everything once a week and once a month.

Jeff Maxwell

Beverly Hills West Limousine

No, not at all. You know, gas goes up one day and goes down the next. If it’s low you build it into your costs; if it’s high you still have to run a company.

Andy Bishop

Director of sales

Hyatt Hotel West Hollywood

Sure, it will have an impact during the summertime. If gasoline prices remain low we will get more business driving in from San Diego and San Francisco. At this time of year, a large portion of our guests are corporate people or European visitors coming in from the airport. They obviously don’t have their own vehicles, so it doesn’t affect them.

Gail Anthony

Co-owner

Flowers By Michael

Yes, we’ve noticed it. We have six trucks and five cars on our gasoline bill. We’re billed every other week by this one gas station we work with, and recently we’ve been noticing that the total is less. It’s nice to see a bill go from $1,200 to $1,000 ? it’s great.

Guy Fox

Chairman

Global Transportation Services Inc.

Not really. A few cents in either direction is not going to affect our business. We have contracts with truckers and shippers and they’re not going to change their rates. Fuel costs are built into those tariffs. Shipping costs are determined by supply and demand.

Liz Anaceo

Bookkeeper

Electric Express

This is our busiest season of the year, so we haven’t really noticed. Our trucks are running all the time, so even if (gasoline) prices are lower we will not be able to notice it that much.