Skyrocketing gas prices causing B.C. residents to reconsider summer road trips
With gas prices ballooning, many B.C. residents might be planning to cut back on road trips this summer.
According to a survey from the Tire and Rubber Association (TRAC), 65 percent of British Columbians said they will either cancel or limit road trips this summer, with nearly 70 per cent believing that high gas prices are the “new normal.”
Destination BC’s April “pulse” survey on B.C. residents’ travel intentions and outlooks also confirms that rising fuel prices are becoming a hindrance to travel, with finances remaining the top barrier.
“Rising fuel prices are now the second-largest noted barrier to travel within the province, with more than one-third of B.C. residents citing transportation expenses as a concern,” said Kristen Learned, a corporate communications specialist, in an email to Daily Hive.
But she added that “interest in exploring B.C. and travelling within Canada remains resilient heading into summer.”
According to the TRAC survey, 84 per cent of respondents said they still plan to take at least one day or overnight trip, and Learnerd said that travel intentions are still following typical seasonal patterns.
“What this tells us is that many B.C. residents are still eager to travel, but they are being more thoughtful about how they plan and budget for their trips,” she said.
If people are looking to cut down on costs, she advised them to consider destinations closer to home, travelling during weekdays or shoulder periods, sharing transportation costs, or combining multiple experiences in one region to reduce driving distances.
Air travel is also adapting. Air Canada recently confirmed to Daily Hive that it will cut four more flights to the U.S. (after it suspended seven last month) due to the high cost of jet fuel. And both Air Canada and WestJet have announced capacity reductions to manage fuel costs, as well as added temporary fuel surcharges on certain flights in April.
Why are gas prices so high?
According to Suzanne Gray, a Kalibrate consultant, tensions in the Middle East have resulted in crude oil going up. The flip-flopping political messaging from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the war in Iran hasn’t helped: one moment, there’s a signal that a solution is imminent, and the next, there’s a signal that the war isn’t ending anytime soon.
These mixed messages are contributing to crude price volatility, which is then passed through to retail gasoline prices,” Gray told Daily Hive.
Further, there’s been a reduction in refinery processing capacity on the West Coast, as a refinery closed in California, which means the entire West Coast is competing for gasoline imports and “can contribute to increased price volatility.”
At the same time, gasoline demand tends to pick up at the beginning of summer, as people drive more.
Are you changing your summer travel plans due to high gas prices? Let us know by emailing vancouver@dailyhive.com.
With files from Amir Ali and Isabelle Docto