Students, city grapple with $4-per-gallon gas

UT students and Travis County officials alike are emptying their pockets as average nationwide gas prices surpass $4 per gallon.

County commissioners established a committee Tuesday to address the unexpected burden on their budget caused by gasoline consumption. The committee will discuss different measures for reducing departmental gas usage and will report back to the commissioners court over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, students are searching for ways to cut their own consumption.

"I visit my parents a lot less," said pharmacy senior Danielle Bailey. "When [gas prices] got to $3.79, I was like, 'OK, they're not going to go down.'"

Average gas prices in Austin remain about 10 cents lower than the national average, according to AustinGasPrices.com, a Web site that ranks user-reported gas prices from around the city.

Actual prices varied widely between stations. Some are now charging up to $4.09 per gallon, while others offer gas for as low as $3.78.

The price to fill up a 15-gallon tank at each of those prices differs by more than $4.50.

Bailey said that even though her brand-new car gets good gas mileage, she thinks high gas prices are permanent and that rising costs may cause her to move to a new home closer to a bus route.

Government and pre-social work junior Chelsea Adler said she was already riding the bus to commute to her internship on a regular basis, despite having a car with her on campus for the first time this summer.

"There will have to be less demand," Adler said. "People are going to have to start relying less on gas and their cars." Pharmacy graduate student Marc Fleming said he might switch vehicles with his wife, who commutes a shorter distance in a smaller car than his.

But radical strategies, not small changes, must be implemented to combat rising prices, he said.

"People have to put pressure on the companies," Fleming said. "Right now there's a lot of artificial inflation … People will have to prioritize and stop filling up. As long as most people can afford to pay and are willing to pay, it's going to make it harder on the people who can't pay."