Gas Prices Turning Drivers To Bus Riders

These days, lines are longer at bus stops because patience is running out for frustrated drivers who are waiting for gas prices to stop rising.

The walk to a bus stop rather than the garage might take a little longer, and the same goes for the time it takes getting to work or school.

“But it’s also fun being on the bus,” said Berenice Rebollar, a student at College of the Desert.

Rebollar said riding the bus gives her a chance get her homework done, and on Sunline, she doesn’t have to deal with traffic on her trip from Coachella to Palm Desert, and her school provides students with free bus passes.

“I don’t have to pay anything,” said Rebollar.

By leaving her Toyota Camery at home and waking up a littler earlier for the bus, Rebollar said she is saving more than $80 a month on gas.

“It’s more efficient (and) less of a hassle,” she said.

“I’m looking for another job at the moment,” said J.R. Velasquez, a Del Taco employee and COD student who rides the bus. “Gas-wise sometimes, you know, it’s pretty hard.”

Six months ago, Velasquez decided his he’d only use his truck to buy groceries and run errands with his family, but to get to work in Indio, or to school at COD, he uses the bus, and that saves him $40 a week.

Velasquez said he pays $3 for a round-trip bus ride, which is more than a dollar less than the price per gallon of gas in riverside county, where the average is $4.30.

“It takes me almost $75 to fill-up the tank, and if I put in $10, I’m still not even getting around — going to work and coming back,” said Velasquez. “I still have to put in gas when I’m done.”

Shane Davis, of Indio, feels his pain.

Davis wears glasses, but his eyes still hurt every time he stops to pump gas.

“I’m a landscaper, so I’ve got to pay for all of my own gas and all my machines and all my mowers,” said Davis. “It’s killer — it really is.”

On the day he spoke with News Channel 3, Davis couldn’t even fill up — he just topped the tank off enough to get home.

Davis said the cost of a full tank is $15 more than it was just weeks ago.

“It’s like that, unfortunately,” he said. “Gas is just extremely expensive.”

Drivers said gas prices are creating lifestyle changes, but at the same time, the skyrocketing prices are keeping money in the pockets of drivers who have turned into bus riders, pinching pennies at the pump.

“Its a lot cheaper,” said Rebollar.

“Its convenient that way,” said Velasquez.