The cost of diesel in the Pittsburgh area reached a record high price Tuesday, further adding to the strain on consumers and business owners forced to pay more to get goods to their destination.
The eye-catching $6.65 per gallon average price was nearly 80 cents higher than a month ago. On the same date in 2025, before the Iran War started, a truck owner could fill up for just above $4 per gallon.
It wasn’t just long-haulers feeling the pinch. Leah Badolato, one of the owners of Bado’s Pizza Food Truck, said the rising costs have led to difficult decisions.
Bado’s owns one of the biggest food trucks in the region. In addition to its normal fuel tank, it runs a 23-gallon generator and a propane tank to power its equipment, including an oven that tops 700 degrees.
“It’s really put a dent on events we can go to,” Badolato said, adding that the generator has to be turned on before the truck leaves her driveway.
This fall, the Bado’s truck limited the number of public events it attended, especially ones further than 20 minutes from its home base that don’t come with a power source. Public events, like community festivals, do not offer guaranteed income for the family.
For private events, the truck now comes with a higher trip fee. The pizzas also cost more, something Badolato said hasn’t happened in years.
“Right now, it’s sustainable,” she said. “If things keep going on the rise, we’re really not going to be able to do public events. Everything’s going to have to be private.”
Badolato said it would be worse if it weren’t simply a small family business. However, she said she continues to enjoy managing the truck three years after they gave up their longstanding brick-and-mortar location.
As for which pizza she – and her daughter – thinks is best?
“Buffalo chicken,” she said.
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