Caroline Gilmore ~ Staff Writer
With the current price of gas sitting at around $4.09 in the 24501 area, many commuter students are facing difficult financial situations coming back from spring break.
Andrew Abernathy ’23 said, “These high gas prices are causing me to spend $100 in gas a week, about half my paycheck.”
Tyler Flaherty ’22 said, “My commute has become hell with these high gas prices. Such a long distance traveled daily is bleeding my wallet.”
Last week, Governor Glenn Youngkin called for the Virginia General Assembly to consider suspending the gas tax for three months according to ABC13. In Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan has already passed a similar bill suspending the gas tax, which has brought prices down to $3.49 at some stations according to GasBuddy.com.
A reduction in gas prices is certainly something that commuter students would welcome. In the meantime, students are trying to find ways to manage their incomes.
Gillian Trost ’23 said, “I have to be more conscious about my overall spending habits. [The gas prices] affect how much I can spend on food and other extracurricular activities. It does make me miss out on certain extracurricular activities because I don’t want to “waste” gas going to school on a weekend where I typically wouldn’t have classes.”
Alison Horton ’22 said, “I drive literally 100 miles a day round trip to get to and from my student teaching placement. It’s pretty stressful to know that even though my car gets 30 mpg I’m still spending about $25 on gas each day.”
Until action is taken by the state legislature or gas prices fall, commuters- and all students who drive- are going to be stuck with high prices at the pump.