According to a study by Toyota Canada, 47% of Canadians will be changing their upcoming summer road trips because of soaring gas prices. Residents of B.C. and Atlantic Canada were the least likely to make road trip plans due to the high costs. Canadians have the pleasure of living in a vast, beautiful country with different landscapes but traveling between places can be very expensive.
For example a round trip vacation from Vancouver to Winnipeg in a Honda CRV will cover 4500 kilometers and cost around $450 in fuel. A round trip flight for two between the two cities comes in at $516 on Swoop. When you factor in that the drive can't be done in one day and add in the price of a hotel, the cost of the road trip ends up being more expensive than flying.
The study also found that 27% of people who had already booked summer road trip vacations were reconsidering their travel plans.
With a whopping 78% of Canadians factoring in the cost of fuel when making vacation plans, travelers may be going shorter distances or canceling their trips altogether this year.
With the constant rising price of gas, the future looks bright for electric vehicles. 52% of Canadians said they are likely to purchase one in the next five years. Toyota Canada reported that electrified vehicles accounted for a record 16.7% of its total sales in April. Nearly 1/5th of Toyota vehicles sold in British Columbia in 2018 were electrified vehicles, with increases occurring in other markets, such as Quebec and Ontario, where gas prices are also a concern.
If gas prices are a concern for your upcoming road their are multiple ways to help save you money. Here are some top tips!
- Change to a closer destination
- Set your cruise control
- Avoid large cities with lots of start and stop traffic
- Use air conditioning only when absolutely necessary
- Avoid the pedal to the medal mentality when accelerating
- Use Gas Buddy to check for the cheapest gas prices
- Don't speed, anything over 100 km/h dramatically reduces your fuel efficiency
The full results of the Toyota/Ipsos poll can be found here.