GasBuddy survey finds 70 percent of Canadians travelling by car for the holidays; 40 percent say high gas prices are impacting their travel plans
REGINA, Saskatchewan — GasBuddy, the smartphone app helping consumers avoid paying full price for fuel, today projects that Canadian Thanksgiving gas prices will average 114c/L, the second highest level on the holiday in the last five years, but notably lower than a year ago.
Gasoline prices have rebounded from a three month low of 113.9c/L on Labour Day weekend after attacks took out a significant portion of major oil producer Saudi Arabia’s capacity, sending oil prices screaming higher before the Saudis restored some of the production and oil prices began to fall once again.
“While gas prices are slightly higher than they were on Labour Day, we’ll still be seeing big savings over average prices from last Thanksgiving when the average in Canada was closer to 125c/L,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With prices again starting to move lower travelers should be shopping around to find the stations that have passed along the savings.”
According to GasBuddy’s Annual Holiday Travel Survey, 40 percent of participants said high gas prices were impacting their travel plans. 2019 is expected to see 70 percent of Canadians on the road for the holiday season, with two-thirds having 1-2 passengers travelling with them. Nearly 30 percent of travellers will be driving 10+ hours or more per trip.
To combat higher prices at the pump, a whopping 78 percent of drivers will be using a loyalty or cash back program to save money or earn rewards when they fill-up.
Additional survey results find the top reasons for Canadians to make a pit stop are needing to use the restroom (1), purchasing fuel (2), or stretching the legs (3). The top considerations when choosing a gas station include location (1), the price of gasoline (2), the brand of gasoline (3), food selection (4) and cleanliness (5).
GasBuddy offers these tips for motorists on the road this holiday season:
- Shop Around For The Best Price. Finding the lowest gas prices can save drivers significantly on their holiday travels, with gas prices in the same city varying as much as 24c/L.
- Watch Your Driving Habits. Aggressive driving habits like speeding, rapid acceleration and braking as they can cost drivers up to an extra $630 per year in fuel consumption. A GasBuddy study from last year found that drivers in North America are nearly 200% more aggressive during the holiday season.
About GasBuddy
GasBuddy's mission is to help consumers avoid paying full price for fuel. As the leading source for crowdsourced, real-time fuel prices at more than 150,000 gas station convenience stores in the U.S., Canada and Australia, millions of drivers use the GasBuddy app and website every day to find gas station convenience stores based on fuel prices, location and ratings/reviews. GasBuddy’s first-of-its-kind fuel savings program, Pay with GasBuddy, has saved Americans more than $8 million at the pumps since its launch in 2017. The company’s business solutions suite, GasBuddy Business Pages, provides Fuel Marketers and Retailers their best opportunity to maintain their station information, manage their brand, and promote to their target consumer audience. For more information, visit https://www.gasbuddy.com.