Stony Brook University junior Julianne Walton-Rantz, from Fairbanks, Alaska, didn’t spend any of her own money on gas this summer.
Walton-Rantz, who worked for Pepsi this summer and was given compensation for some of the gas her car consumed, spent almost $60 per week on gas.
‘I could’ve made more money from my job if gas wasn’t so expensive,’ said Walton-Rantz.
Stony Brook University junior Andrew Califano of Massapequa, said he had to budget his money and carpooled to work because of the high gas prices.
Califano, who owns a 2000 Mercury Sable, said, ‘I like my car because it’s a V6 but a V4 would more fuel efficient, so I’m stuck between the two.’
Gas prices on Long Island were on average over $4 a gallon this summer. Blasting the air conditioner and burning fuel while sitting in traffic didn’t help your wallet.
Stony Brook University junior Erin O’Sullivan spent her summer in Port Jefferson, and drove home to Mastic Beach only when she had to.
‘My vacations were driving home,’ said O’Sullivan, who spent around $50 a week in gas and planned out where she would go.
Jennifer Angley, a Stony Brook University senior from Albany, said she will be making the trip home less this semester because of high gas prices and would consider buying a Toyota Prius Hybrid.
‘Companies are thinking of new ways to use energy,’ said Angley. ‘We need to start learning how to use other resources since the resources we have now are running out.’
Stony Brook University sophomore Meagan Mollergren owned a sport utility vehicle last summer and had to ask her boss for a raise in order to drive from her home in Setauket to Huntington for her job. Mollergren spent around $65 dollars a week in gas with her sport utility vehicle, and now owns a Mazda 3.
‘I would never go back to an SUV,’ said Mollergren. ‘I was broke.’
Oil prices have been dropping slightly over the past two weeks at some stations. Student will continue to see a little relief at the pumps as the price of crude oil decreased slightly Wednesday according to Oilmarketer.co.uk, a news service specializing in oil production and output.
