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
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
10 years in U.S. prison for Canadian man who stole millions with fake psychic fraud
A former Montreal resident has been sentenced to 10 years in a United States federal prison for a multi-decade fraud that manipulated more than one million Americans into sending money to fake psychics.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.