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
'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Rates of cancer declining in Canada, but more work needed to save lives: projections
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Canucks hold off Oilers for 4-3 win in Game 3
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise's disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.