ORLANDO, Fla. — As AAA shows the price of gas surpassing $4, businesses that transport visitors to Orlando’s many hotels and attractions are feeling the pinch.
Mark Williams co-owns and drives for Ontour Orlando Transportation. He and his daughter started the business two years ago, and he says the cost of gas is impacting their bottom line.
“We have three vehicles and we were looking to buy another one, but the way things are going, especially for the gas prices right now, we have to be really reconsidering that decision,” he said.
Williams says he drives his large van, even if he only has two people to pick up, because his SUV’s require premium fuel.
“Whenever it’s summertime, we see an increase in the prices, but this is far past what we’re used to,” he said. “We’re paying probably about double what we used to pay, basically.”
According to AAA, the price per gallon of gas has gone up roughly 13 cents from last week and 85 cents from this time a year ago.
While those numbers go up, Ontour’s prices stay the same.
“We can’t really increase it because we don’t want to price ourselves out of the market,” said Williams.
He adds that some of his fellow business owners are closing because of the cost of gas, which he says now surpasses the cost to insure his fleet.