Although gasoline prices have skyrocketed to nearly $3 per gallon, CyRide is prepared for any extra expenses.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Department, gasoline prices jumped 13 cents last week to an average of $2.96 per gallon on Monday.

Fortunately for CyRide, the majority of its vehicles are diesel-powered, so the rise in the cost of gas has not affected the bus service too drastically.

“[Diesel] prices were higher in the winter, but now it’s almost equal to gas,” said Bob Bourne, director of transportation for CyRide.

He said all of the full-sized buses now run on diesel, and the only CyRide vehicles that use gasoline are two minivans and a shop truck. CyRide only buys about 300 gallons of gasoline per year, compared to 270,000 gallons of diesel.

Bourne said CyRide tries to use as much 10 percent biodiesel blend as possible, but demand for the soy additive in biodiesel has caused prices to rise.

“If it’s within two cents of the price of regular diesel, we buy the biodiesel,” he said.

Although larger cities such as New York have begun using fuel-saving hybrid buses, the possibility of using such technology is still a few years down the road for CyRide, Bourne said.

He said for now, CyRide would continue focusing on offering as much service as possible despite rising costs.

“We haven’t cut any routes yet, and we’re actually going to extend service in the fall on a few routes,” Bourne said.

He said when gas prices go up, CyRide sees increasing numbers of riders.

James Boyle, freshman in forestry, said he tries to save money by riding buses whenever possible.

“Gas is way too expensive,” Boyle said. “CyRide goes most places I need.”