Average gas prices have hit $2 a litre. Here's how Canadians are coping with soaring costs at the pump - The Globe and Mail

As gasoline costs mount, many Canadians are changing driving habits and adjusting spending to cope with the financial impact.Michelle Siu/The Canadian Press

With gas prices recently soaring past $2 per litre in much of the country, Canadians are feeling the pinch.

Oil and gasoline prices have been on the rise much of this year, particularly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February. Even as oil prices recently levelled off somewhat, gas prices continued to shoot up in recent weeks because of surging demand for gasoline, jet fuel and diesel in the pandemic recovery, outpacing refineries’ abilities to keep up. Gas prices pulled back Friday just ahead of the long weekend, but remain near all-time highs.

In previous gas-price run-ups, motorists would grumble but not change driving and spending habits much. This time around, the $2 mark is serving as a pain point for many, forcing them to adjust their driving and spending in a number of ways amid a broader surge in inflation. Many are driving less, cancelling trips, or strategically planning their mobility, while others are cutting back on general discretionary spending to offset the higher cost of gas.

Consumers have increasingly been searching for vehicle purchases based on fuel economy, and more are choosing to downsize their vehicle when trading in, said Cody Green, co-ceo of Canada Drives, an online vehicle retailer based in Vancouver.

Canada Drives noticed a sudden shift in buying this month in favour of smaller vehicles, putting them ahead of SUVs. “Historically it was 1:1 cars:SUVs for sales, but in May we’ve seen cars selling 25 per cent more than SUVs,” Mr. Green said.

Calgary resident Derek Dukelow downsized his SUV in January due to rising gas prices and switched to a 2016 Ford Fiesta, which he uses to drive to work. However, he has put off going to the movies, a favourite pastime, to reduce expenses and cut the number of camping trips with friends this year from 10 to four given the two-hour drive.

“It’s taking away some of the enjoyment. Even just going for a drive to the mountains used to raise my spirits and now I ask: should I save that gas?” Mr. Dukelow said, adding it has been stressful. “Us blue-collar workers are not getting any richer. It’s an anxiety-inducing time.”

Lori Kalemkerian, a Toronto, Ont. resident, has cut back on plans to visit her family in Michigan and New Jersey this year, planning one drive to see them compared to the multiple trips she had originally anticipated.

“I feel like I’m still being limited from seeing them because the gas is so prohibitive... Family is important, they’re everything,” said Ms. Kalemkerian. An avid Amazon shopper, she has also cut down on her e-commerce spending as well.

A recent survey by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants found nearly two thirds of Canadian drivers are driving less due to rising gas prices. About 22 per cent said they’re driving “a lot less,” and 41 per cent said “a little less.”

Canadians in rural areas are looking for any way to avoid long trips.

“If we need milk or groceries, we no longer just make that trip into town. We wait and go without until a major grocery haul a week or so later,” said Okanagan Valley, B.C. resident Kerry Taylor, a financial strategist, whose closest reasonably-priced grocery store is 45 minutes away in Vernon.

“Our little hay farm has a budget of $3,000 a year in diesel, and now it’s closer to $6,500. That’s doubling our price to make hay,” added Ms. Taylor. “So suddenly we’re analyzing how much we have to price the hay just to break even. If we can’t make hay, then the horses don’t have food or the livestock. So this trickles down to food prices ... because my expense just went up 50 per cent. You need fuel to make food.”

North Battleford, Sask. resident Evan Vaughan says he has cut back on visiting friends and family in other provinces, and avoided travelling to the mountains to decompress, in order to save the $150 fill up for his SUV. Driving is especially important in the prairies, he noted, where communities are spread out and there’s often minimal transit systems. It’s become unaffordable for some in outlying communities to get to urban places, so they end up paying more for food in small nearby stores. He’s also noticed many hitchhikers recently. “It’s always been cheap out here but now the cost of living is skyrocketing,” said Mr. Vaughan.

Even simple pleasures are now off limits for some. Surrey, B.C. resident Kim Stoodley, who is on a fixed budget and in between contract work, used to drive for a coffee daily but now only takes her car out every few days. When she does, Ms. Stoodley buys four cups of coffee and places three in her fridge to reheat in the following days. This helps her cap her weekly gas bill usually to about $25 a week.

People wanting to drive less are looking to find properties closer to public transit to save on gas, says Adam Hoffman, a Toronto, Ont. real estate agent at Property.ca Inc. And real estate agents themselves are feeling the pinch, narrowing their work geographically and referring some clients elsewhere, Mr. Hoffman said.

The gas-price surge is likely to make city transit systems, which have been filling up as the pandemic eases, even busier. According to a 2021 study by the Canadian Urban Transit Association, when gas prices increase by 10 per cent, transit ridership increases by 1.44 per cent.

Car experts offer tips for gas-saving practices, such as avoiding idling, excessive air conditioning, excess loads, hard braking and jack-rabbit acceleration, and ensuring tires are properly inflated. Other tactics include completing all of your errands in a single run, and carpooling with friends and family when possible. Lineups are an increasingly common sight at some First Nations gas stations, where prices are lower due to lower taxes.

Fuel-price surges also highlight the benefits of electric vehicles.

Toronto, Ont. resident Siobhan Donaghy has been an EV driver for four years, purchased when Ontario still had rebate programs in place, and says she offers rides to family members for longer trips to alleviate “the burden of paying for gas.”

“Whenever there’s a spike on gas prices, the readership on all of our articles about EVs and hybrids spike too,” said Canada Drives’ Mr. Green. “Customers say it’s driven by fuel prices more than any environmental considerations.”

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWdsb2JlYW5kbWFpbC5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3MvYXJ0aWNsZS1jYW5hZGEtZ2FzLXByaWNlcy0yLWEtbGl0cmUv0gEA?oc=5

2022-05-20 12:36:56Z
1405576174