Surging Gas Prices Hurting Transportation Economy
EL SEGUNDO (CBSLA) - The price of doing business is becoming extremely difficult as the price for a gallon of gas continues to hit record highs.
For drivers who transport people to and from LAX and other Southland airports, this uptick in gas prices has made it extremely hard to make a profit.
Mike Porter, owner of In Style Transportation, survived keeping his small business running during the pandemic but now his company is dealing with the high gas prices.
"It's tough. This industry there's not a lot of margin to begin with so we have to be really really careful of our rates…," Porter said.
Porter's company has 12 drivers and 12 luxury SUV's in his fleet. Drivers transport their clients mostly to and from LAX, John Wayne airport and Burbank airport.
Porter said his drivers are filling up at least once a day, paying around $2500 a month on gas. As a result, Porter could be paying up to $360,000 a year just on gas.
"It's definitely trouble for our industry and us personally we had to add a gas fuel surcharge on our bill and I always swore I would never get into these surcharges and fees," Porter said. "But what I ran into is I would try and go in and raise our flat rates and by the time I get them raised, I'd go to the gas station and gas would already be 26 cents higher."
He says the feedback from his clients have been mostly positive regarding the surcharge which he says he's incredibly grateful for.
Porter is hoping gas prices level out soon but like many other Southern California residents, he knows that is unlikely. Right now, Porter said he's paying 160 dollars to fill up his Cadillac Escalade. He indicated that gas stations also have a cap on a spending limit and that usually stops at 75 to 100 dollars, showing that they have not adjusted yet to the demanding cost for oil.
"It points out how the gas stations haven't even caught up with the price increases to raise their caps yet," Porter said.