After a long summer of paying more than $4 a gallon, students and faculty members breathed a sigh of relief when prices dipped to under $2 a gallon this semester.

Students hopped back in their cars for a more affordable ride home, but some were still skeptical for how long it could last.

“I love them,” said Jill Wojciechowski, graduate student. “Unfortunately our economy had to crash before they became so low.”

Mattias Polborn, University economics associate professor, explained in November that prices dipped because of lower demand. Prices were not higher because of higher demand so much as oil companies were attempting to conserve their fuel in preparation for rising barrel prices. To be cautious, oil companies stocked up on barrels eventually creating a surplus that needed to be sold.

Polborn said at the highest oil prices this year, the U.S. was spending between $30 million and $40 million per month for oil, roughly $50 per U.S. citizen, per month.

“I feel good about the prices,” said Christine Vogt, Champaign resident. “But I’m living in fear of them going up.”

After months of living the fuel good life, Polborn sticks to his prediction that prices could eventually go back up to $4 per gallon. He said the drop in oil prices means consumers can keep their money for other purchases. Although, he advised when buying cars today to still think of gas mileage as if the gas price were $4.

“The bad news is that this hasn’t turned around the economy, and it is easy to see why: When people are afraid of losing their jobs, they are not going to spend those extra dollars that they now save on gas,” Polborn said.

What to look for next semester:

Daniel Bernhardt, University economics and finance professor, said in November that we should expect the low gas prices to stick around. Next semester could bring less dependency on company buses and more car traffic on the way home.

“Who knows. If the economy continues to weaken significantly, prices will fall further,” Bernhardt said.