Motorists Ready to Pump The Brakes on Spiking Prices at the Pump

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Just a few years ago, Bahamians were paying around $4 to $5 a gallon for gas, steady prices that felt manageable, but today, those numbers have nearly doubled as of Monday morning.

For drivers here at home, that means bracing for potential higher prices in the future.

Paul Major – Motorist

“Every two minutes you look around, it’s going up, going up. It’s causing you so much, I gotta go up on my prices now. It’s hurting, it’s hurting.”

Tedros Cartwright – Motorist

“I remember back in the day you get $20, you know someone catching a ride they give you $10, you know that take you a long way. Now shoots $100 can’t full up my car no more, but whatever happens, I just gotta work harder.”

The sharp rise isn’t just local. It’s being driven by the war in the Middle East, which has disrupted vital oil routes and sent global crude oil costs soaring.

Edwardo Deveaux – Motorist

“I can’t argue with the prices; I just gotta pay the bill, you know what I mean. I just gone pay the bill. Hey I wondering if it gone go down now, that’s the only thing concerning if when the war over if it goes back down…”

However, is there any end in sight to the rise? We spoke with President of the Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association Vasco Bastian who says the complex issue will take all sides coming together to find a possible way forward for the country.

Vasco Bastian – Vice President, Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association

“Wholesalers, retailers and government would have to sit down and probably all discuss, but even with that everybody in this situation…hands are really really tied. Government, wholesalers, retailers everybody, but we can have discussions to see how do we approach it and how do we do it to the benefit of everybody, but it is a very very difficult and sensitive issue at the moment.”