Despite Baton Rouge gas prices averaging more than $2 per gallon, many students and faculty still plan to commute as usual this semester.
As of Aug. 14, University students, faculty and staff have purchased 25,709 parking permits for the fall semester – 167 fewer than last fall when gas prices were considerably lower, said Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation.
The average price of unleaded gasoline in Louisiana this past weekend was around $2.50.
Graham encouraged the students, faculty and staff to use University bus routes and other transportation alternatives.
“It’s cheaper, obviously, to ride the bus,” Graham said. “It saves on gas.”
Graham said driving, however, is sometimes the only alternative if students have to be somewhere immediately after class.
Twenty-two buses on eight different routes make their way through campus daily. They run Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Night routes run Monday through Wednesday between 6 p.m. and midnight and Thursday through Saturday between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Graham said the contract between the University and Capital Area Transit System also allows students to use the public bus routes throughout the city for free.
The Metro Council approved Aug. 10 a $600,000 subsidy to CATS, but Graham said the same amount of buses will service campus in the fall and spring. The subsidy will leverage the budget deficit due to increased oil prices.
“We’ve already signed the contracts for this school year,” Graham said.
Although hundreds of CATS bus riders are protesting proposed fare increases aimed at further aiding budget shortfalls, students pay public transportation fees each semester covering routes on and off campus. As long as students show their University IDs, they can ride around town for free.
Students who must drive because they live too far from campus can find ways to save on gas prices.
Latrisha Davis, economics junior, said that because she and her roommate live far from campus, they save money by taking turns driving to school.
“In tenth grade when I first got a car, gas prices were $1.08,” Davis said. “The other day I saw they were $2.40. In college you have a certain budget to work with. Gas prices change it because they fluctuate so much.”
Dennis Castleberry, philosophy junior, lives in the garden district and rides his bicycle to and from campus. He said he uses his car to travel greater distances, such as when he visits his family in Port Vincent.
“I’ve gotten good exercise and saved a lot of money,” Castleberry said. “Hearing people complain about gas prices makes me happy that I ride my bike.”
Castleberry said riding his bike to campus requires less time than when he drove to campus and searched for a parking spot.
Driving to class every day is the only option for some students such as Amber Campbell, mathematics junior. A transfer student from Mississippi Delta Community College, she is new to the University and does not know any fellow students living in her area.
“If I knew more people in Louisiana, I would definitely carpool,” Campbell said. “If five people carpooled, each person could use his car one day a week. That would save a lot.”
In addition to increased gas prices, students also must pay $51 – $12 more than last semester – for an annual parking permit.
Contact Chris Day at [email protected]