BURBANK, Calif.—Veterans, members of the military, and Honda owners filled up their gas tanks for free May 23 in advance of Memorial Day weekend when a record number of drivers are expected to hit the road.
“We do random acts of helpfulness,” said Christina Woods, spokeswoman for the Helpful Honda Team of SoCal. “So today, we are surprising Honda drivers, and also vets and active military, with free gas.”
The 17-year-old organization travels around Southern California, helping communities mostly around holidays, Ms. Woods said.
A Honda team member was waving at traffic, welcoming those who qualified for the free fill up to pull into the Mobil Burbank Gas & Mart station on North Glenoaks Boulevard.
Navy veteran M.J. Barnett, of Burbank was driving her daughter’s VW Beetle convertible by the station when she noticed the gas giveaway. She had borrowed the car from her youngest daughter, who was graduating later Thursday, so the full tank will be a gift for her, she said.
“It’s so nice to always be appreciated,” she said. “And not just a ‘thank you’ to veterans. It’s nice to have people who show appreciation like this, especially corporations.”
Ms. Barnett was deployed for two years overseas and then served the same amount of time in San Diego, she said.
Vietnam veteran Fred Ortega said the free gas was “wonderful.”
“What Honda does is really, really nice—especially for the veterans,” he said.
The Helpful Honda Team plans to offer free gas at stations in Culver City Friday and in Huntington Beach Monday, which is Memorial Day.
Gas prices are dropping in California as millions prepare for the upcoming three-day weekend.
Prices continued downward for a fifth-straight week, giving some Southern California travelers a chance to fill up for about $4.50 a gallon or less in a few areas, according to the Southern California Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch.
“With an all-time record number of Southern California travelers expected for this Memorial Day getaway weekend, the gas price drops are providing some welcome relief,” said Auto Club Spokesperson Doug Shupe in a statement Thursday.
The average price for a regular gallon of gas in California May 23 reached $5.16—nearly two cents lower than the day before, according to the American Automobile Association.
In Los Angeles and Long Beach, the average price was $5.11, also a two-cent drop from Wednesday, AAA reported.
The national average was $3.61 a gallon, according to the AAA.
The auto association forecasts a record 38.4 million drivers hitting the road for the long weekend ahead.
“Since the pandemic, the summer driving season has not seen a surge in demand, which can push pump prices higher,” said Andrew Gross, an AAA spokesperson. “So it will be interesting if this year bucks that trend.”
