Gas prices increase while Centro fare decreases in central New York

Oswego, N.Y.- Gas prices are surging here at home and all over the world while bus fares fluctuate. Between the Russia and Ukraine conflict to supply chain shortages caused by the pandemic, inflation is quickly affecting communities in upstate New York. 

John Kane, an economics professor at SUNY Oswego, said central New Yorkers should expect to see an even higher increase in gas prices soon due to the shifts in both supply and demand.

“As people are traveling more, we’ve seen an increase in the demand for gasoline compared to where we were during the peaks of the pandemic when travel was quite a bit lower,” Kane said. “In terms of supply, we’ve seen lots of issues with supply-chain issues. We’ve seen disruptions in supply caused by weather conditions as well. ”

President Biden recently announced that the U.S. will ban imported oil and other energy sources from Russia which could further boost gasoline prices. According to  AAA, as of today, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas is now four dollars and 33 cents which is a 55 cent increase from last week. 

“Rising prices are temporary,” Kane said. “I’m hopeful that we will see a decline in the near future once the Russia and Ukraine War ends”.

The increase in gas rates have many students reconsidering their daily commute. Some everyday drivers are choosing alternative modes of transportation like buses to avoid the hefty prices at the pump. 

Centro is the public transportation provider for Syracuse, Oswego and other neighboring counties. Due to Covid-19, the bus company suffered from a labor shortage and began running on a modified schedule throughout the pandemic. As of March 7, Centro will resume various bus route services as well as reduce bus fare. One-way bus rates are now set at one dollar for all Centro city bus services according to a Centro bus representative.

SUNY Oswego student Kamal Morales is looking forward to the new changes and said Centro bus is convenient during the week. 

“It’s consistent,” Morales said. “But on the weekends, it’s very spotty and students still need to get around campus. They still need to get from campus to Walmart to [do] things. So I think they really need to pay attention to creating more services for students to depend on during the week.”

For more stories on gas prices, visit Oswegonow.com.