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With gas prices reaching more than $4 per gallon, Americans are doing everything they can to save at the pump. These high prices are especially troublesome for poor college students. I

, luckily, have a handy BP credit card that my sweet grandparents got me for Christmas and it is a lifesaver. During the school year, I live on campus so I walk literally everywhere on campus. The only time I would drive would be to go shopping or to visit a friend, so I almost never drove. Now that it is summer, I have to drive on campus and everywhere else, so my Poppy has definitely noticed a major increase on my BP bill. Not all students are as fortunate as I, however. The high price of gas as forced some students to dust off old bicycles or those walking shoes.

Riding a bike, of course, uses no gasoline at all so the cost benefit is great. The only down side is with Auburn’s sweltering summers students can’t really count on arriving to class fresh. During the spring semester, I never really noticed that many students riding bikes except for the occasional Asian grad students with Hello Kitty handlebar tassels. Now I see bikes everywhere; especially whizzing by on the concourse. I have almost been hit several times and have witnessed a few gnarly wipeouts the pavement.

Rodney, a maintenance worker and salesman at The Bike Shop on North College Street downtown, said the store has seen an increase in sales. He said that he has noticed people bringing in old bikes that had been shoved in the back of the garage for years that people are having repaired. He said he has seen several “70’s cruisers” coming in the store. I would love to see those riding around campus. I personally ride a bike sometimes to class, but I have never visited the store until my interview. It is very cute and the employees are super friendly, so I would definitely go back to get maintenance done on my pitiful pink and blue bike.

Ed Hall, a senior architecture student at Auburn, rides his bike almost every day. Originally, he started cycling to stay in shape, but now he does to save money. He says that it is very easy to get around town because “Auburn is so small you can get anywhere you need to go by bike.” I asked if it is hard to carry all of his blueprints and school books on a bike and he replied that he has pretty good bike handling skills. He says that he has noticed that he is saving some money from not driving to class.

Students are very aware of gas prices. It is hard not to obsess about it since it is a headliner on the news almost every day. If I had to pay for gas myself I am sure that I would carpool more and ride the Tiger Transit a lot more than I do. I’m sure I’ll notice a lot more bikes now that gas is so expensive!