Over the summer when gasoline prices crossed the $4 mark for the first time ever, some Rhode Islanders turned to carpooling to save money.

Sharon Raiche, her daughter, Amanda Raiche, and Sharon’s best friend, Linda Plante, all decided to make their daily commute from West Warwick to Providence together.

Now, it’s just Amanda and her mother who ride to work together, Amanda said. Plante, who worked at Dorrance Street Financial, lost her job as an administrative assistant, Amanda said.

Amanda still drives her 2008 Honda Accord to work everyday. But the reason mother and daughter ride together now has more to do with convenience than saving money on gas, Amanda said.

“We just both go in the city,” she said. “It’s easier for her –– her parking is far away from her building.”

Amanda works for the secretary of state’s First Stop Business Information Center. On her way to work, she drops off her mother at the Rhode Island Supreme Court building, where she pays the court’s bills and oversees contracts with outside vendors.

It’s a lot cheaper now to fill up her tank, Amanda said. Over the summer, it would cost about $70; now it’s about $35.

“I feel a lot better about my life,” she said. “I’m saving myself close to $30 or $40 a week. I have a car that does pretty well on gas. Still it definitely helps around Christmas time.”

— Journal Staff Writer Timothy C. Barmann

tbarmann@projo.com