Fuel prices push drivers to rethink how they get around

It's simple economics - as the price of an item increases, the number of people purchasing that good decreases.

With gasoline prices increasing so dramatically over the past few months, it makes sense that people are trying to buy less gas.

• Read Part 1 of the AFN's series on transportation: Mass transit plans could help Ahwatukee Foothills

With a product so essential, though, how are people coping with the recent hike in gas prices?

Oscar Frnco, 42, a Phoenix resident who works as a custodian for the Tempe School District, drives himself and his wife to work every day in their truck.

Instead of spending $60 a week on gas, Frnco says he now pays in the neighborhood of $130 weekly.

Frnco wishes he hadn't gotten a truck and is now considering trading it in to get a smaller, more fuel-efficient car.

What makes this recent upsurge in gas prices even worse, Frnco says, is that the prices on everything else seem to be going up as well.

"The food is getting more expensive," Frnco said, but he hopes the upcoming elections will provide the country with someone who can put a stop to rising prices.

Another option Frnco contemplated was taking the bus to work, but to him, temperatures seem to be rising more quickly than gas prices right now.

"It's going to be hard," Frnco said of waiting at a bus stop in the Arizona summer to go to work.

But there are some people who are willing to brave the heat at bus stops in an attempt to save money.

The relentless increase of gas prices over the past year has coincided with a rise in local bus ridership.

According to the Monthly Commuter Scorecard released by Valley Metro, express bus ridership was 163,313 during April - a 23 percent increase in ridership from April of last year.

Over the same period of time, gas prices increased about 12 percent to $3.28 per gallon with the price even higher today.

While some people are looking for different modes of transportation to combat the gas price surge, others are trying to decrease their gas expenses by changing their driving habits.

Kristen Mackey, 18, says she is trying to drive less in general, and is aiming to do little things to increase her fuel efficiency.

"If it's cool enough, I drive without air conditioning," Mackey said.

No word on how many times she has driven without air conditioning this summer.

"People at work are starting to carpool," added Mackey, who works at the Ahwatukee Foothills YMCA.

Not everyone is being affected by the higher fuel costs.

Barbara Jackson, 70, is part of a senior citizens group in the Blackwater region of the Gila River Indian Community.

She's surprised that prices are so high, but says it didn't have a huge impact on her life.

"I don't drive as much as I used to," Jackson said.

When she does go somewhere, it's usually as a part of the group carpool, such as when she visited the AMC Ahwatukee 24 Theatres to catch The Happening.

And while that movie might make you jump, it's nothing compared to the leap gas prices have made since Jackson began driving.

"I remember when it was only 23 cents," she said.

Ben Sandoval is interning this summer at the AFN. He is a junior at Arizona State University.