With fuel prices on the rise across the U.S, UW Transportation Services is also spending more on fuel in order to operate its bus routes and other public transit options.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “The gasoline index rose 6.6 percent in February and accounted for almost a third of the all items monthly increase.”
Additionally, the BLS found that the energy index has risen 25.6% in the last year, the largest increase since 2020.
As of March 31, Wyoming’s average gas price was slightly lower than the national average. According to the American Automobile Association, the national average was $4.22 per gallon, while Wyoming’s average price was $4.11 per gallon.
According to Director of Transportation Services Paul Kunkel, UW Transportation Services currently spends between $12,000 and $15,000 on fuel each month.
“We’ve seen about a 15% increase at the beginning of the year,” Kunkel said. “Our fuel invoices are a bit delayed, so I won’t see the full impact of March for a couple months, but we’ll expect another significant bump.”
According to Director of Transportation Services Paul Kunkel, some of the increasing fuel costs have been offset by a decrease in staff.
“Due to the staffing shortages we’ve experienced in Fiscal Year 2022, our routes have been reduced, along with the number of vehicles we’ve been operating on both fixed-route and on-demand vehicles,” Kunkel said.
“The reductions throughout the year have helped offset the increased fuel costs we’ve seen over the past few months.”
Currently, transit services operates fixed bus routes throughout campus and Laramie Monday-Friday, with LaramieLink Dial-a-Ride providing on-call services throughout the week.
At the beginning of the semester, some bus routes to buildings on campus were reduced and replaced with the Dial-a-Ride service, including a route to the Visual Arts Building.
Kunkel said that Transportation Services obtains fuel through a periodical bidding process, which includes a number of different public suppliers.
Kunkel said that transit services is anticipating an increase in expenditures for the 2023 fiscal year (FY23) and has planned accordingly.
The budget has not yet been approved and is still being reviewed by the Board of Trustees.
