N.S. Cab Company Fears Price Hikes If Gas Prices Don’t Drop
BRIDGEWATER–The owner of a cab company in Bridgewater is hoping he doesn’t have to raise rates to offset high gas prices.
Cal Bowles, who owns Cal’s Taxi, does multiple trips each week to the Halifax airport. He says record-high gas prices are hurting his income.
“If I make 200 runs to the airport from Bridgewater [in one year] and I accumulated $30,000, there’s going to be quite a difference in gas price at $1.20 [per litre] and $1.80 [per litre],” Bowles says.
It cost him about $50 to make an airport run recently–a trip that cost him roughly $30 last year.
Bowles is the owner and lone taxi driver for his one-man company and says he can’t imagine if he also had to pay staff. Bowles put his prices up four months ago and is holding out hope he doesn’t have to do it again.
“I’ll give it a month,” he says, “and if it’s still $1.80, obviously I’ll be putting my [airport] fare up.”
Gas prices have gone up 30 cents a litre in the last week; it’s currently selling for between $1.86 and $1.90 per litre depending on the area of the province.
Anastasia Payne is a reporter with CKBW in Bridgewater, a Huddle content partner.