Iona College commuter students began their first week back to class following Hurricane Sandy waiting for hours on service-station lines that are at a standstill and waiting for gas deliveries that never come.

In addition to the irritating commute, prices at the pump are on the rise with the average price per gallon increasing by nine cents in New York City, according to Automobile Association of America.

The Mobil Service Station on North Avenue has seen lines 60 feet long on some mornings, many of them students filling up their cars before their classes.

“We’ve seen long lines and people filling up tanks ever since we reopened after the storm,” said manager Aliraza Raza. “Our gasoline business has doubled, mostly because of the hundreds of cars on line every day.”

With the demand for gasoline on the rise, more than 500 possible cases of price gouging of gasoline have been reported in New York before and after the hurricane. The state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the claims. More than 300 of the gas gouging reports were made last week alone.

“I feel bad,” Raza said. “These gas stations shouldn’t do that, but sometimes they can’t help it. They have to keep up and make some type of profit.”

Only about a third of the service stations in the city and suburbs are selling gas, making it almost impossible for commuters to drive to campus daily and not think about filling up.

“I didn’t fill up before the hurricane so, a few days after I was desperate,” said senior Andrew Hastings, a commuter student from Mount Vernon. “Luckily my father is a cop in mount Vernon so I had some friends who owned gas stations.”

The Mobil Service Station isn’t the only gas station with long lines on North Avenue. Both the Gulf and Valero Service Stations either had long lines or were closed, unable to keep up with the high demand.

The gas crisis is much worse in other parts of the tri-state area, however, with New York City and Long Island both enacting gas rationing last week. Cars with a license plate ending in an odd number can only fill up on odd numbered days, while cars with a license plate ending in an even number can only fill up on even numbered days.

These plans will be in effect until the supply of gasoline can keep up with the demand from drivers, however students at Iona College remain hopeful that the rationing technique won’t apply to Westchester County.

“I’m lucky in that my commute to Iona is not far,” said senior Amanda Petrescu who commutes from Eastchester. “Next time a storm is coming I’m filling up when I have the chance. There’s no way I’ll be waiting on another two hour line for gas.”