‘People will be rethinking road trips’: Will rising cost of gas lead to changes in travel?

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First at Five: Searching for Savings

Maritime gas prices surge again

Maritime motorists will be paying more at the pumps Friday following overnight price adjustments.

Nova Scotia

The price of regular self-serve gasoline in the Halifax area increased by 5.7 cents per litre. The minimum price is now 174.4 cents per litre.

The price of diesel increased by 9.8 cents per litre to a new minimum price of 229.8 cents per litre.

In Cape Breton, the minimum price of regular self-serve gasoline is 176.4 cents per litre. The minimum price of diesel is now 231.7 cents per litre.

On Friday, the Nova Scotia Energy Board said it would use the interrupter mechanism to adjust the price of diesel oil at 12:01 a.m. Saturday “due to a significant shift in the market price.”

The price of gasoline will not be affected by this change.

Prince Edward Island

The price of regular gasoline on P.E.I. increased by 6.3 cents. The new minimum price is 186.6 cents per litre.

Diesel prices increased by 10.3 cents. The minimum price is now 242.5 cents per litre.

New Brunswick

The price of regular self-serve gasoline increased by six cents per litre to a new maximum price of 175.8 cents per litre.

The price of diesel increased by 1.9 cents following a previous increase on Thursday to a new maximum price of 233.9 cents per litre.

‘Makes a bad situation worse’

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, says there is still more pain to come.

In the next week alone, he predicts gasoline could move up another five or six cents a litre and diesel could go up as much at 18 to 20 cents a litre.

McTeague adds the timing isn’t great, with the switch to the summer blend of gasoline less than a month away.

“For gasoline, that really makes a bad situation worse and could bring us a lot closer, in some instances, to paying well over $2 a liter should the conflict continue,” he said.

With the high cost of living and rising gas prices, CAA spokesperson Julia Kent says people are looking to save money wherever possible.

“That includes taking advantage of loyalty programs like CAA’s where CAA members get three cents off a litre at Shell locations,” she said.

“We are urging consumers to practice eco driving, and what that means is to conserve fuel where possible. Combine your errands into one trip, lay off the gas, drive a little bit slower.”

Kent believes people may also change their travel plans as the seasons change.

“I think people will be rethinking road trips, looking at the price of gas for this summer, particularly if it stays high,” she said.

“If there’s less road trips, that means there’s probably less people traveling and that means that cities and economies are going to be impacted all through the travel industry; restaurants, hotels, Airbnbs.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emma Convey and Callum Smith.