? Connecticut residents are feeling the pain at the pump with many gas stations charging about $2.50 per gallon.

The increase is 20 cents more than drivers paid last month and that has many of them upset. Oil experts do not predict a decrease in prices anytime soon. Cameron Hanover Inc. Energy Analyst Peter Beutel says the jump at the pump is due to turmoil in oil-producing countries like Iran and Nigeria.

Some analysts credit the increase in oil prices with the boost in ridership on public transportation. Connecticut commuter trains carried one million more passengers in 2005 than 2004.