Gasoline prices hit historic $2 per litre mark

Fuel costs hurting deliveries, those on tight budgets

It may be time to dust off that bicycle tucked away in the basement.

As gas prices continue their ascent past the $2-per-litre mark this week, residents across the region are having to reconsider their daily driving patterns.

“I can’t go see my niece and nephew unless I make it a big plan far in advance,” said Crystal Love-Dundas, driving from Guelph to Hamilton for a hospital appointment on Wednesday. “It costs over $50 now just to go see them, and they’re only in Brantford. I have family in Barrie, too, and that’s just not going to happen any time soon.”

For her retired mother, Wendy Dundas of Cambridge, rising gas prices means taking a hard look at all of their expenditures.

She’s researching gas prices online before she fills up to get the lowest prices and tries to find the best deals at grocery stores before she leaves the house.

If you don’t have to go anywhere, she said, don’t go anywhere.

“It’s just absolutely ridiculous the amount of money people are having to pay for everything,” she said. “The price of gas is going up, the price of food is going up, everything is going up — it’s just insane.”

As the war in Ukraine rages on and the world looks to find alternative fuel suppliers, local drivers are feeling the pinch of the global supply shortage.

Regular gas prices at some stations in the region surpassed the $2 mark, reaching as high as $2.02 per litre at the Esso in New Hamburg on Wednesday afternoon. Prices averaged about $1.96 per litre across the province on Wednesday, according to the latest numbers from CAA.

Last week, regular gas in Ontario averaged around $1.84 per litre. It was at $1.65 per litre last month, and $1.28 per litre last year.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, gas prices dropped below 80 cents per litre.

For delivery drivers who rely on low gas prices, the increase is taking a major cut out of their paycheque.

“When I started my deliveries, gas was just 90 cents per litre,” said

Satnam Singh, a delivery driver with Pizza Nova in Kitchener. “Now, it’s over double that. I get the same pay, everything else is the same, but my expenses are double.”

On a typical day, Satnam said he will drive anywhere from 100 to 150 kilometres making deliveries, which used to mean about $25 in gas expenses. Now, it’s costing nearly $50.

His bosses have talked about increasing his wage, he said, but it likely won’t come close to covering the difference.

If prices continue to increase, he said, he may have to consider quitting altogether.

“If prices were to go up to $2.25 or $2.30 per litre, I just wouldn’t be able to make any money,” he said.

For others, the increase in gas means making hard decisions on when to pull out the keys.

“It’s not something that’s very nice to think about,” said Bob Neath, a retiree from New Hamburg, at the pumps on Wednesday.

Neath was filling his wife’s car, topping up with premium gas that has now hit about $2.15 per litre.

It’s not a car they drive very often anymore.

“I’m very conscious of that,” he said. “I have another car that takes the regular gas and that’s the one we use primarily now. It’s certainly a hardship for many people and it’s something we’re going to have to live with for a while.”