Kylie Drunasky | Student Life Editor
March 27, 2026
Rising gas prices have been a constant concern, with prices continuing to spike this past week, affecting the economy and the daily lives of individuals. The rising cost of fuel’s effect on daily life has been seen through transportation, personal finances, and travel decisions. These changes may even lead to an overall transition to electric cars and decline in air travel due to increasing plane fuel costs.
As for students in high schools specifically, higher gas prices can challenge them financially through the commute to school, extracurricular activities, and part time jobs. The increase in gas prices takes up a larger portion of their family’s income, limiting how often students can participate in activities, sports, or jobs that require commuting. Many opportunities are limited and independence is restricted with students having to keep their driving to a minimum. Daliah Shin, a junior at SCHS has been deeply affected by the increase in gas prices as she does not live near the school. As a student in the IB program, she has a complex schedule that requires extra hours at school. She claimed that “[her] drive to school is too far to be going back and forth, forcing [her] to stay at school when she does not have a class.”
Not just students are impacted by this, but entire families, as daily commutes, errands, and other transportation needs have become more expensive, leading to decisions to cut back on spending that is not essential, like dining out, entertainment, and vacations. Transportation of goods is more expensive, as that requires fuel as well. With that, everyday items become more pricey.
The increase in gas does not only apply to cars, but to planes as well. Airlines have higher costs to operate the planes, reflected by the increase in plane tickets to pay for the higher prices of plane fuel. With plane tickets rising, the cost of traveling by air also increases.
With gas being so expensive, many resort to transportation that does not require it, like electric cars. More people are beginning to consider the purchase of these cars, as they run on electricity instead of gas. They produce fewer emissions, which makes them an environmentally friendly choice of transportation. Junior Camryn Juncaj mentioned that she “recently has been driving [her] family’s Tesla instead of [her] own car in order to save gas.” She also believed that her Tesla “is safer to drive and better for the environment.” This dramatic increase in price for gas has everyone making changes to their daily lifestyle. Therefore, as gas prices climb, people will continue to rethink their way of transportation.
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