With a halfhearted sigh, Luis Rivera flipped through his wallet Wednesday afternoon, trying to decide how much green he should pump into his gas tank.

“We bought gas this morning, and here we are doing it again,” Rivera, of Ashtabula, said. “We put in just a little bit at a time to get by because we just don’t have the cash to fill up.”

Two years ago, Rivera paid $22 to fill the gas tank of his red compact car. Now, it costs $44 to fill up.

Rivera is watching the signs alongside the road closely, as prices fall by pennies or even dimes across the country.

Gas prices fell below $3.70 a gallon Tuesday at some Ohio stations, AAA reports, with Ashtabula County stations dropping to $3.68 along Interstate 90. The fall from $4 a gallon can be attributed to decreased demand as people walk, bicycle or take public transportation to save money, AAA director of public affairs Brian Newbacher said.

“The price of oil fell to $127 or $128 per barrel. The price of fuel is falling with the (fall in) demand,” he said.

Newbacher said other political factors can’t be discounted in the falling price.

“President Bush’s decision to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling and his call to Congress to do the same has had some impact,” Newbacher said. “Demand drop is far and away the real reason (for the price fall), but the president’s decision has had some psychological impact.”

Shenale Williams of Ashtabula doesn’t care what causes lower gas prices, as long as they are lower.

“It costs $80 to fill this van,” Williams said of her family vehicle. “And we rarely fill it up all the way. We put a couple of bucks in at a time to get from A to B.”

Newbacher said AAA analysts expect gas prices to continue to drop if the cost of crude oil stays below $130 per barrel.

“On the long term, it will be harder to predict. Weather, politics, rebel uprising in Nigeria, all those factors play a part in our gas prices here,” he said.

Rivera said he isn’t holding much hope for lower and lower fuel prices.

“I think it will go down a little and then go right back up,” he said. “Years ago when gas went over $1, it never went back under. Then it went over $2, then $3, and it never went back under. We are stuck, and I think we all know it.”

Williams said her family will continue to walk and ride bicycles when they can, but she is looking forward to less and less pain at the pump.