Gasoline pump prices are shown at a gas station Monday, in Portland, Ore. (RICK BOWMER/The Associated Press)

Hannah Davidson circles the service roads off U.S. 75 Highway searching for an affordable gas station. This time, she settles on the Techron Station located off U.S. 75 and Fitzhugh.

A recent college graduate, Davidson supports herself and likes to conserve money whenever possible.

“I’m always aware of how much gas is in my tank these days. I usually drive past a few stations and settle on the one with the cheapest gas,” she said.

She limits her driving to work and to necessary destinations. However, when Davidson needs to run errands, she carpools with friends or neighbors in her apartment complex in attempt to reduce the number of times she has to fill up with gas.

“The reason gas prices are up is because crude oil is up,” Professor James Cooley, Senior Lecturer of the Economics Department at SMU, said.

Across the nation, people are witnessing the steady climb of gas prices. On April 21, 2011, the price per barrel of oil traded at $112, its highest since 2008.

“Oil is a commodity that’s traded globally in dollars. And the major exporting countries realize that the value of the dollar is going down,” Cooley said. “In order to preserve the purchasing power of the oil they’re giving up for that, they’re charging more.”

With the high price of gas, the residents of Dallas are left with thinner wallets and struggling to find ways to cope. While filling up at the Shell Station on the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and Lovers Lane, Jonathan Huntly impatiently glances at his watch as he pumps gas into his SUV. He is in a hurry to get his son to baseball practice and just stopped to fill up his empty tank on the way.

“For me, I just pull up to the nearest gas station when the light in my car turns on to tell me my tank is empty. What it comes down to is, I have to get around, so I’m going to pay,” he said.

To fill up his 18-gallon tank, which he does about once every nine days, it costs Huntly around $70. This particular Shell Station charges $3.99 per gallon for unleaded fuel. At what may seem a high cost to pay, Huntly isn’t dissuaded by cost.

A few miles away in North Dallas, a new iPhone application led 27-year-old Bill Muncklin to the Chevron located at Preston and Northwest Highway. The popular application, Gas Buddy, allows the user to enter a zip code and find the cheapest gas prices.

“I saw that gas prices were going up and decided there was no way I was going to pay more than I had to for gas. So I found this app online. And the app brought me here,” Muncklin said.

Gas Buddy even allows the user to enter which type of fuel for which they are searching. With such a handy tool, savvy shoppers can find the cheapest gas nearest them.

Tina Lester works in a high rise downtown, but she lives about 10 miles away in her town home. When gas prices surpassed $3.50 per gallon, Lester decided it was time to find an alternative way to commute to work.

“Well, I’ve decided that I’m going to take the DART from here on out. I don’t have the budget to be paying as much as the gas stations are asking for. It’s outrageous,” Lester said.

Instead of filling up her 15-gallon tank twice a month, she now saves about $40 by purchasing a monthly local DART pass.

“Not only do I feel good about saving money, but I also feel good about helping the environment too,” she said.