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Stacey Huffstutler | Northern Star
DeKalb resident Ken McCabe fills up his truck at the Marathon station on Lincoln Highway Sunday evening. McCabe said he was recently in Chicago where prices are $4.15 a gallon, compared to $3.74 here in DeKalb. McCabe plans to cut his gasoine costs this summer by keeping his truck parked and riding his motorcycle more often, which gets 55 miles per gallon.
NIU faces rising fuel prices
For months, analysts have predicted that the cost of a gallon of gas would reach $4 this summer.
Currently, the average price of gas in DeKalb is $3.749 a gallon, according to AAA.
“It affects us,” said Brent Keller, director of mass transit for the Student Association, of rising gas prices. “It causes our costs to rise quite substantially.”
However, no Huskie Bus Line routes will be cut and students will not be charged any extra fees because of increasing gas prices, he said.
“While the rise in fuel costs has been painful, it’s always been our policy to not cut service,” Keller said. “While it has been exceedingly expensive, by no means is it killing us.”
Huskie Line recently added the Northern View Community route and the SA plans on expanding weekend service in the near future, he said.
“Transportation can be a fairly compassionate business once in a while,” Keller said. “We’re dealing with fuel costs the way 99 percent of America is.”
William Finucane, manager of the NIU transportation department, is in charge of providing fuel, maintenance and vehicles for the university.
“The university has had a locked-in price on gasoline of $2.80,” he said. “That’ll change come July 1, when our new contract will take effect.”
On July 1, the university’s price for gas will increase to about $3.05, Finucane said. That price will stay constant until July 2009. There is no locked-in price for diesel fuel, so the biggest impact of rising fuel costs has been on diesel-powered vehicles, he said.
The implementation of 24 hybrid vehicles has helped save the university money on gas, Finucane said.
“That really has helped us stretch out our fuel,” he said. A typical sedan gets 28 miles per gallon, while a hybrid gets 42 miles per gallon, Finucane said.
For the buses, Huskie Bus Line pays $1.80 and the Student Association pays anything over that amount for a gallon of gas, Keller said. A new fuel contract will take effect in July – one that will likely save the SA money, he said.
Huskie Line buses have started to use biodiesel fuel, but the alternative fuel still has some drawbacks, Keller said.
“That’s saved a fair amount of money,” he said. “It’s a relatively unproven technology. It gels, clogs engines. The science is continuing to progress.”
NIU students who drive must deal with rising gas prices every time they fill up at the pump.
“They’re pretty high right now,” said Luis Sadowski, a freshman math education major. “Getting to and from school shouldn’t be such a hassle.”
According to AAA, at the same time a year ago, the cost for a gallon of gas in DeKalb was $2.93. Six months ago, it was $2.95. Last month, it was $3.34, and just last week, it was $3.60.
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