Erik Sherp of Rome says $50 is getting him a little farther than it used to.

“I only put in $50 at a time,” he said when pumping gas at the Kroger on Turner McCall Friday, May 27. “I can tell I am getting more gas than I was a couple weeks ago.”

Drivers around town expressed relief Friday as they prepared for the holiday weekend.

“We are having more customers coming in,” said Jasmine Dorsey, a clerk at the BP on the corner of Turner McCall and Cooper Drive.

Dorsey said customers have remarked to her that they are getting more for their money.

“They say it is taking less to fill up a tank,” she said.

Lisa Keith of Rome said that when gas prices peaked she left her SUV in the garage and opted to drive a BMW 325 instead.

“I get close to 30 (miles per gallon). So this is better,” she said.

She noticed that gas prices began to drop, but hopes to see them drop even more.

Gasoline prices have dipped 4 percent, according to The Associated Press, dropping nearly 18 cents per gallon in the past two weeks.

But they’re still higher than last year. Gas prices on May 4, 2010 averaged $2.90 a gallon in Rome, nearly 70 cents cheaper than the current $3.60 average.

Jamie Rochester of Cedar Bluff, Ala., said prices have dropped, but they are still cheaper in his hometown across state lines.

“It is $3.53 in Alabama, so that’s where I go and get it,” he said as he filled up at the Kangaroo on Shorter Avenue.

Sherp’s daughters are on traveling softball teams. He said he spends a lot on gas each week and looks forward to a little break at the pump.

“It could keep going down,” he said. “That wouldn’t hurt my feelings.”