Drivers fuming over increase in gas prices

His red Saturn packed to capacity with luggage, senior Umair Quraishi left for his home in Chicago Sunday.\nThe business major left Bloomington with a lighter wallet than he had hoped.\nHe watched his gas bill rise as he pumped $17.50 into his car at the College Mall Shell, 2700 E. 3rd St. He usually buys premium -- but the $1.97 per gallon Plus was good enough Sunday. Quraishi called the higher prices "a scam, a way for the oil companies to make more money."\nWhere he's headed, though, prices are no better. In Chicago he said he's heard that prices are already more than $2.50 per gallon.\nAnd some observers predict that gas could reach $3 per gallon, because of a variety of factors. Volatility in gasoline prices is possible this summer, with U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories below normal and with demand for gas rising an average of 6 percent during the summer, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.\nThe EIA predicts slightly lower average prices than last summer, when Gov. Frank O'Bannon temporarily suspended the gas tax to relieve the rise.\nIn Bloomington, blame for the prices varies about as much as the prices themselves. Junior Isaac Kinsey, an employee at Shell, said customers place blame in a variety of places: big oil companies, President George W. Bush, former president Bill Clinton, Middle Eastern countries and even gas station employees.\nKinsey said he's just as upset about high gas prices as the consumers who come in to complain. He said one customer cursed at him and asked for a refund for more than $50 in gas.\n"They act like I make the gas," Kinsey said. "When you drive into a gas station and you're upset about the price, don't bring it in to me."\nWhoever or whatever they blame, customers are angry, Kinsey said.\nRising prices have caused some consumers to change driving habits -- abandoning or using gas-guzzling vehicles sparingly and eliminating unnecessary trips.\nWallace Stuart, a resident of Mooresville, said he drove his 1989 Dodge Caravan Sunday because it gets better gas mileage. He left two newer cars in his garage.\n"I grimace at the costs. It's painful," said Stuart, who shelled out $29.75 for 15 gallons.\nAs he pumped his gas at Shell, Stuart said consumers should boycott the big oil companies. He said it's the big oil companies that are pushing up costs.\nBut according to the Energy Information Administration, the consumer cost for gasoline in 2000 was divided among several factors. Crude oil composed 46 percent, federal and state taxes 28 percent, refining costs and profits 14 percent and distribution, marketing and profits 12 percent.\nSenior Josh Johnson and Kinsey, both Shell employees, said they've found themselves engaged with customers discussing ways to lower gas prices.\nJohnson said more money should be put into a mass-transit system, heeding the example of European countries.\nKinsey said he has advice for customers to reduce prices: walk.\n"I walk everywhere"