The thought of riding on a motorcycle used to scare Augusta State University student Shannon Bruckner.

But with the price of unleaded regular gasoline reaching $3.29 a gallon in Augusta and possibly going even higher in weeks to come, Ms. Bruckner, 19, is contemplating a new set of wheels with good gasoline mileage.

"Hmm ... that one's kind of pretty," Ms. Bruckner said she thinks when she sees a motorcycle now. "I wonder how much that one is."

She's not the only ASU student affected by rising prices at the pumps. Like Ms. Bruckner, most ASU students commute to class and many have changed their daily lives to accommodate paying more for transportation.

Driving has been reduced to strictly essential travel, said Amanda Bennett, 18, of Thomson.

"I'm not going anywhere," said Ms. Bennett, a biology major. "I'm going to school and back."

Even a recent dinner and movie date in Augusta with her boyfriend to celebrate their 4-year anniversary was canceled to save gasoline. Instead, they stayed in Thomson, she said.

"Before, I would drive around town just for boredom, but I don't really do that anymore," said Ms. Bruckner, who only drives to work and school.

Student Amy Graulty, 19, said she and her friends hang out at one of their apartments instead of driving in search of entertainment.

"Nobody really goes out that much," said Ms. Graulty, standing outside her University Village apartment with roommate Morganne Nadler.

Spending more on gasoline means many students must cut expenditures in other areas of their lives.

Before Sandy Ma runs errands, she maps out her route and tries to stay in the same area of town.

Ms. Bennett buys fewer groceries and cuts coupons, something she never did before gasoline prices got so high, she said.

Next semester, Charlie Barkemeyer, an education major, will have a car and an on-campus job, but he still plans to take the bus like she does now because it is so easy and fits her schedule.

Even without a car, Ms. Barkemeyer, 18, admitted gasoline prices have affected her.

"It keeps my mom from coming every week," said Ms. Barkemeyer, whose mother's Macon-based job has her traveling less to Augusta for business.

"It's a slight plus," she added with a grin.

Reach Kate Lewis at (706) 823-3215 or kate.lewis@augustachronicle.com.