Ottawa delivery drivers still struggling with the cost of fuel as gas drops to the cheapest price in months
The price of gas has gone down by almost 40 cents in Ottawa since June. But it’s back up seven cents on Sunday and those who drive for a living are spending hundreds of dollars on fuel every week.
Michel Bigras owns W Flowers in Nepean, the bulk of his business comes from delivering those flowers to customers.
"The cost of gas has been driven so high that I had to raise my delivery rates," says Bigras. "A year ago I was charging $12 per delivery in the Nepean area. Today I have to charge $14 to go anywhere in Nepean."
Bigras is spending twice as much on gas this summer compared to last year.
"I went from spending $400 a month to $800," says Bigras. "I’ve actually doubled it."
The average price of gasoline in Ottawa a year ago was about $1.30 a litre and near 92 cents a litre two years ago. On Sunday, gas was selling at around $1.67 per litre.
Spencer Gibara is an Uber Eats driver, he says rising gas prices make it difficult to accept orders that have him driving longer distances.
"When it goes up, delivery drivers and Uber drivers are pretty heavily hit by it,” says Gibara. “I spend about $500 per week on gas. I drive about 40 hours a week, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Obviously, it depends on the fluctuating prices, but I fill up about every other day and when I get that gas bill it’s never fun."
In the last few days, Ottawa has seen many Gatineau residents crossing the interprovincial boundary, searching for cheaper gas prices.
A Gatineau resident fills up the gas tank at a station in Ottawa. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
"We shop in Ontario and whenever we need to shop we profit and bring it down by 20 cents," said one Gatineau resident filling up his car today in Ottawa. "Right now in Quebec, it’s $1.83 and I’m paying $1.66. So you’re talking about 17 cents."
"I come to Ontario once a week," says Gatineau resident Edwing Marc. "So I will wait to come here to fill my tank because it could be like 10 cents lower than in Quebec."
Michel Bigras also happens to live in Gatineau, but rarely fills up there.
"If I’m paying $1.51 here, I could be paying $1.68 anywhere I go in Gatineau," says Bigras. "So there’s no shopping around in Gatineau. It’s a flat rate."
And with the recent drop in gas prices, it means Bigras is passing the savings onto the customer.
"I filled both vehicles right away," says Bigras. "So I can throw a little bonus in my flowers you know what I mean. Just to give them relief too. So that’s what I’m saying to my customers. I’m giving you a little more flowers this week because I got a little break on gas."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.