NATCHEZ &045; Gas pumps across America have gotten some nasty looks and threatening words from drivers of small cars and SUVs alike in recent months, but the impact on those drivers has been minimal, compared to some.

For James Saunders, owner of Double S Enterprises Inc., transportation is business. His trucking company owns 20 vehicles that log between 150,000 and 175,000 miles every year. At about five miles to the gallon, gasoline has become a huge portion of his operating cost, and a huge concern, he said.

&uot;We’ve done some figuring, and we spent $9,000 on fuel last year than in the year before,&uot; Saunders said. &uot;The reality is that the person that’s got deeper pockets can last longer.&uot;

Tuesday, U.S. gas prices averaged $2.056, up .057 from the day before and up .332 from a year ago.

In Mississippi, according to AAA, Tuesday’s prices were $1.973 for regular, $2.081 for mid-grade and $2.175 for premium.

In Louisiana, prices were $1.971, $2.101 and $2.199.

Concordia Parish school bus driver James Cockerham said the continued high prices were pushing some drivers away from the business.

&uot;We’ve had a lot of drivers who are looking at laying it by the wayside,&uot; Cockerham said. &uot;There’s no incentive for people to get into that line of work with the price of gas continuing to spiral.&uot;

Cockerham said he can get three and a half to four miles to the gallon in his school bus, which he owns. In the parish, bus drivers own their buses and are paid an operational allowance by the school board.

Over the past year, Cockerham and other drivers have requested an increased operational allowance to cover rising gas prices. The school board recently changed the bus policy to allow for increases in operational allowance in accordance with the state recommendation.

The current allowance is 13 percent. Drivers have requested 17 percent for the next year.

&uot;There was a time when you could make a few cents,&uot; Cockerham said. &uot;But we have some drivers who’ve talked about laying it down because it’s just not profitable.&uot;

Bus services in the Natchez-Adams District are contracted through Durham Bus Services.

Though the district does not own the buses, it pays for the gas and absorbs any increases as gas prices go up, Durham Manager Ron Idom said.

David Marchbanks of Ferriday’s Denny LJ & Son Trucking Co., said the gas prices are a Catch-22 for his business.

The trucking company is in the business of transporting oil and gas drilling rigs to and from oil companies. Though Marchbanks is spending more to fill up the gas tanks on his vehicles, the extra money in the oil industry means better business and more money for his company.

&uot;It affects the little person that is not related with the oil industry,&uot; he said. &uot;But we’ve been able to put seven to eight people to work because of the rising fuel costs.

&uot;It hurts the little guy, but it’s helped our business tremendously.&uot;