In March of last year, gasoline prices began rising at a fast pace and in June reached an average of $4.53 a gallon for regular gasoline in Bakersfield. Later, in July, gas prices began going down, averaging $1.59 a gallon in December.
However, the price of gasoline is starting to go up again, and students are beginning to feel the burn.
Journalism major Tyrone Barner believes that students are severely affected by the increase on gas prices. According to Barner, the oil industry is just finding ways to elevate the price of gasoline and make more profit, just like last year.
High gas prices make some students look for alternatives that would save them a few dollars even if that means sacrificing time. “I have a friend who has a car, but she catches the bus to come to school,” Barner said.
Other students combine public and personal transportation.
Chi Dinh, 17, comes to Bakersfield College four days a week. She rides the bus two days a week, and the other two days she gets a ride from her family members.
“It’s cheaper using the bus, but it takes longer,” said Dinh. The trip from BC to downtown Bakersfield, where she lives, takes her about 15 to 30 minutes using the bus depending on what line she uses.
Dinh plans to get her drivers license soon, but she will still use the bus because she finds it more convenient for her pocket.
Some students have no choice but to spend much of their budget on gasoline.
Maribel Olvera, a psychology major at BC, commutes from Wasco, spending around $40 a week on gasoline. When gas prices were higher, she had to limit herself to eating out less often.
“Most of the time I use regular gasoline unless I have a few extra dollars, then I will go with premium,” Olvera said.
She considers $2 a gallon to be a fair price and would definitely switch to a more gasoline-efficient car if she had the chance.
Around campus, Gasco on Mount Vernon Avenue and California Avenue is the cheapest option to fill up for regular gasoline. For medium and premium grade, Fastrip on Mount Vernon Avenue and University Avenue offers the lowest price.
Olvera usually fills up at Circle K in Wasco. “I use this particular gas station because it is the nearest to my?house,” she said.
Olvera could be saving around 15 cents per gallon driving to Gasco or stopping by Flying J at the Merced Avenue exit on Freeway 99 on her way to BC. Fuentes is the owner of Fuentes Motors, a small car dealership in McFarland. He travels twice a week to Los Angeles where he buys cars at auto auctions. Fuentes noticed that the gas at this location was cheaper than most places. “I will definitely make this stop my usual gas station,” he said.”When gas prices go up, we have to raise the prices on our cars, and the customers are the ones who are affected the most,” Fuentes said.
Flying J at the Merced exit is the cheapest option to pump gas for students commuting from Wasco, Delano and Earlimart.
More information on gas prices in Bakersfield is available at www.bakersfieldgasprices.com.