‘Buy weh me can buy’ - Motorists cutting trips, stretching money as gas prices climb

Motorists across the Corporate Area are cutting trips, buying fuel in small portions and parking up earlier as another increase in pump prices begins to bite, exposing sharp differences in how drivers are coping.

Prices for 87 and 90 gasolene have increased by $4.50 per litre, according to Petrojam Limited, pushing 87 octane to roughly $181 per litre before retailers' mark-ups. A check of service stations across the Corporate Area shows pump prices varying by several dollars per litre, with some locations significantly higher than others despite the same base increase. Supply chain disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict between the US and Israel and Iran, have caused oil prices to surge worldwide.

In the downtown Kingston area, one motorist, Ross, said the rising cost has forced him to change how he buys fuel.

"Mi can't buy like $5,000 a day like one time. Now a $2,000 mi stretch, sometimes $1,000 fi go and $1,000 fi come home," he said.

"Can't conserve, mi jus affi buy weh me can buy [based on] the amount a money gas cost," he added.

He explained that limiting how much fuel he buys has also changed his behaviour.

"If me fi full mi tank, mi ago find all kind a places fi go. When mi see say mi nuh have none, mi tan a mi yard," he said.

Spending Hours in traffic

Ross said traffic is making the situation worse.

"Sometimes the traffic terrible from home to work. Mi a spend up to two hours in traffic, and that burn a whole heap a gas," he said. "Mi nuh know if this is the same reality for other motorists, but a no all a we weh own car have it."

Stacy Lauren, who commutes daily from Portmore to Kingston, said her decision to drive a Honda Fit has helped her manage the increase.

"Of course, the bigger the engine, the more fuel your car requires, and the smaller results in my very situation," she said. "People need to think about these things when buying a vehicle - your financial situation and what could happen, whether it's a recession or anything else."

Lauren said it now costs just over $8,000 to fill her tank, up from about $6,000 before the increase, but noted that a full tank lasts her up to two weeks.

"I have been cutting back, that started when I decided to get a Honda Fit," she said. "If you're driving a fuel-efficient car, the hike shouldn't hit you the same." She added that her adjustments extend beyond fuel use.

"I bring my lunch to work. I don't go out on the road if I don't have to, and that's just my reality now," she said. "This hike is honestly really exposing class divide on the road."

'It nuh feasible'

Taxi operators, however, say the situation is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly with long hours in traffic.

"Sometimes there is a whole heap a traffic and that burn gas. The place hot, mi affi use AC or else me and me customers dem burn up. That take gas," one operator Johnson said.

"It honestly just nuh make any sense anymore. It nuh feasible fi deh pan the road all day and the gas so high," he added. He said long hours on the road no longer guarantee profit, as fuel costs continue to eat into daily earnings, forcing him to take breaks of up to two hours to conserve fuel.

While motorists once relied on shopping around for cheaper fuel, some say the price gap between stations is narrowing.

"One time yuh could a go certain gas station and say, yes, dem cheaper than this one by far, yuh can save some dollars. But right now, it feels like it is the same all across the board," he said.

Others, however, maintain that even small differences still matter, especially for those buying fuel daily in limited amounts, turning each stop into a calculated decision.

"Driving now is no longer just about getting from point A to B. It's about stretching every dollar and deciding when you simply can't go any further," Johnson said.