With gas prices hitting an all-time high, more people are finding new ways to travel more fuel-efficiently.

“Everybody seems to be wanting to trade in their big trucks for hybrids or smaller, fuel-efficient cars,” said Dario Gutierrez, general manager at Brian Bemis Toyota and Scion, 1890 Sycamore Road.

Many consumers are now investing in hybrid automobiles, which are known for getting better gas mileage.

“The primary benefit of a hybrid car is the increased miles per gallon [mpg],” said Bill Finucane, manager of NIU’s Transportation Department. “A secondary benefit is the reduction of emissions released into the atmosphere.”

One of the leading makers of hybrid vehicles is Toyota.

“Toyota were the first ones to come out with a hybrid: the Prius,” Gutierrez said. “The hybrid Prius gets about 48 mpg, compared to the 35 mpg Toyota’s highest gas car gets.”

Jae Park, freshman sociology major, drives a Toyota Prius.

“I can get over 700 miles on one tank of gas,” Park said, adding that he can drive from DeKalb to St. Louis on a half tank of gas.

Although hybrid cars tend to cost a few thousand dollars more, consumers will inevitably make up for it through the money saved on gas.

“It costs about $35 to fill up the entire tank,” Park said. “The tank holds 11.9 gallons.”

The university has noticed a cut in fuel expenditures as a result of going hybrid.

Finucane has been involved in the university’s experimental program of using hybrid vehicles.

“In comparing the two primar- model sedans the university owns, the non-hybrids used in the motor pool get about 28 mpg,” Finucane said. “The hybrids in the poll are typically about 42 mpg.”

The most notable hybrid vehicles on campus are used by the University Police.

“Those sedans were bought to replace the typical police cruiser – a Ford Crown Victoria,” Finucane said, adding that the Crown Victoria only got 8 to 10 mpg on campus. “The hybrids we’re now using for the same purposes, are getting about 40 mpg, cutting our fuel cost by about 75 percent for that use.”

Before investing in a hybrid, it is a good idea to analyze whether the use of the vehicle would be necessary.

“A hybrid will not work in every situation,” Finucane said. “But for a typical work commuter, the hybrid will decrease fuel use.”

Despite the recent increase in hybrid use, some do not believe they are the final solution to extending the finite fuel supply.

“More likely, they will be the starting point as the automotive industry moves on and discovers new technology, whether that be fuel cells or something else,” Finucane said.