Survey finds more than half of Canadians are driving less due to soaring gas prices

More pain at the pumps in northern Ontario Timmins sees $1.75 per litre Wednesday as gas prices in northern Ontario continue to soar along with the rest of the province.

A new survey suggests more than half of Canadians are driving less because of the price of gas. It also shows that people are now considering a hybrid for their next vehicle.

People in the north still have no option but to fill up their vehicles with gas prices sitting around $1.90 per litre.

The latest survey, which was conducted by rates.ca based out of Toronto, shows that high gas prices are affecting more than half of people living in Ontario.

"We found that 54 per cent said they are driving less because of high gas prices. Another 15 per cent said they are not driving less yet but they expect to," said John Shmuel, managing editor with rates.ca.

"So, the idea there is if these high gas prices continue, those people are also going to cut back their driving."

The survey also found some people are already considering what their next vehicle will be, and almost half of those who responded said they are expecting to purchase something that doesn’t solely run on gas.

"So, 18 per cent of those we surveyed said their next vehicle is going to be an electric vehicle," said Shmuel.

"Another 20 per cent said they expect their next vehicle to be hybrid vehicle, and then for alternative fuel vehicles, which could be things like natural gas, that fell to six per cent."

The survey also suggests the majority of drivers who are not driving nearly as much these days haven't notified their insurance provider, and were not aware that they can get a lower rate.