California drivers crushed by sky-high gas pricesare getting a rare break, thanks to a Native American tribe opening a new fuel stop.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians opened its second Agua Caliente Fuel station on Saturday in Palm Springs, with pump prices already matching the city’s cheapest gas and undercutting California’s eye-popping statewide average.
Posted prices Friday showed regular unleaded at $5.13 a gallon, with mid-grade at $5.38, premium at $5.63 and diesel at $6.03. If those prices hold through opening day, they’ll be tied for the lowest in Palm Springs, according to The Desert Sun.
The new station sits at the corner of Dinah Shore Drive and Lawrence Crossley Road and follows the runaway success of the tribe’s first Agua Caliente Fuel location, which opened near its Rancho Mirage casino in 2021.
That station has become famous for bargain prices, often drawing long lines of drivers as California gas costs have surged in recent months following the fallout from the Iran war.
Unlike traditional gas stations, revenue from Agua Caliente Fuel goes straight into the tribe’s treasury, funding public services, infrastructure projects, community programs and distributions to tribal members.
The tax picture is also different.
Because federally recognized tribes are sovereign nations, fuel sold at tribal stations falls under a split tax system.
The federal government collects fuel taxes on every gallon sold, while California receives little from the fuel itself.
The tribe is also organized under federal law and isn’t required to publicly disclose financial records, tax returns or profit margins to the state, the public or federal agencies.
The timing couldn’t be better for motorists.
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According to GasBuddy, California’s average gas price stands at $5.65 per gallon, the highest in the nation and over $1.50 above the national average of $4.10. Meanwhile, Indiana holds the lowest statewide average at $3.56, closely followed by Texas at $3.59.
The Palm Springs station won’t just sell gas. The 9,500-square-foot building includes a convenience store and a 2,900-square-foot gaming area with 90 slot machines, more than double the 43 machines at the Rancho Mirage location. Like its predecessor, it features 24 fuel pumps.
The tribe isn’t stopping there. A third Agua Caliente Fuel station is already under construction between Cathedral City’s civic center district and the tribe’s Cathedral City casino, although no opening date has been announced.
The expansion adds to a growing network of tribal-owned gas stations across the Coachella Valley, joining Shelee’s Travel Center in Coachella and the Morongo Travel Center in Cabazon.
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