Maritime gas prices ride high as road trip season shifts into new gear
Gas prices at over two dollars a litre may be too much for some drivers to ignore this summer.
A pair of surveys suggest Canadians will compare any road trip ideas with rising fuel costs, and curb some travel plans as a result.
"That two dollar a litre mark really is the price where people start to think differently about their road trips," says Kaitlynn Furse of the Canadian Automobile Association.
While some Maritime drivers are leveling their travel expectations on this first official weekend of summer, others expect to keep their foot on the pedal.
However, it may be a different pedal.
Pierrettee and Roger Doiron of Saint John are planning a trip to Prince Edward Island next week, but are gauging how to keep the transportation costs on budget
"It’s a lot of money, two dollars a litre," says Pierrettee. "So we have to think about the cheapest way to go."
That may include switching their regular wheels to a couple of tour bikes.
"It gets much better fuel mileage than say a car or something," says Roger. "The problem with that is if the weather is bad we’ll have to go spend more money on a car."
No matter the vehicle driven, it will be difficult for drivers to detour paying more.
For example, a road trip from Moncton to Montreal this summer, depending on the size of vehicle, may have drivers spending about $300 more compared to previous years.
Travel restrictions at the height of the pandemic familiarized people with "staycation" attractions nearby. For some, that appears to be a good option for limiting fuel consumption this summer too.
"I plan on staying in the province," says Vonda Johnson. "I won’t be travelling outside the province. New Brunswick is a beautiful place. When we were in lockdown I saw places I didn’t even know existed in my own home province."
Tips from CAA to avoid undue fuel costs include turning off the ignition for any wait longer than a stoplight, using cruise control when possible, and remembering the fuel economy for many vehicles peak at speeds of between 80-90 km/h.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.