Car Pools In Salt Lake

(CBS)  The Energy Department says that, despite record-high gas prices, Americans are buying more of it than ever. But a Department analyst tells CBS News that to save money, many drivers are switching from premium to regular.

On the Price Patrol, CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod has found there are other ways to save on gas. He reports from Salt Lake City that the state of Utah has found a new way to sell an old idea: carpooling.

Maybe the most overused phrase this summer has been "pain at the pump." But in Utah, we've been reminded of an important lesson: the best way to deal with pain? Share it.

Chris Green, a member of the world famous Mormon tabernacle choir, carpools 180 miles up to five times a week to get to practice.

"To me, the choir is my service to the Lord and fellow man," Green said, "and you can't put a price tag on that."

Which is good because her monthly share of the car pool has gone up to $60 dollars. But if she were a solo act, she'd be paying more than $300.

"If you're complaining about the gas prices, try to do something. Try to find somebody to ride to work with," she said.

That's exactly what the state's doing here – coordinating car pools.

Get a carpool of 10 together and the state will lease you a van for four cents a mile -- $57 a month on average. Requests are up 111% in a year.

"The demand for these vans is higher than we can supply. If we had a hundred more of these, we could fill them today," said Justin Jones of the Utah Transit Authority.

The CBS Price Patrol decided to join the carpool craze by giving three school children a lift. We gave Dominic, Thomas and Tony's moms a break on the $2.52 a gas here and drove them to school.

The kids said they hear their parents complain about gas prices "all the time" but are happy to take advantage of discounts.

Carpools are not the only option to beat the rising prices. Trolley use is up 12% this month and city bus use is up 6%. Only the cabbies are getting slammed. Their first rate increase in eight years – 20 cents a mile more – is being eaten up every time they fill up.

"Per hour, I can make probably as much working at McDonald's," said cabbie George Eichert.