What does it take for a Richmond driving instructor to consider switching careers?
For Dean Zhao, who has been working as a driving instructor in Richmond for three years, the reason is simple: skyrocketing fuel prices.
After spending a whopping $200 on gas last week for his Nissan Sentra, Zhao started seriously considering a career change.
“Gas was only 97 cents per litre at the beginning of the pandemic and now the price has risen to over $2.11 a litre. It’s just unbelievable. Gas is as expensive as a bottle of Diet Coke,” said Zhao.
“I said to myself, if gas prices continue to rise, I won’t be staying in the industry for long.”
Zhao, who works for Motor King Driving School, said a few of his workmates have switched to electric vehicles.
Zhao, however, said he isn’t ready to trade in his gas-powered car yet since the least expensive electric vehicle on the market starts at $32,000 and he needs to save up for that.
Zhao noted students might need to “pay for the price” in the long run, but, at this point, the driving school doesn’t have plans to increase tuition fees.
Meanwhile, Zhao isn’t alone in feeling the pain of rising gas prices.
It’s something other driving instructors in the city are considering, with a litre of gas costing $2.14 on Thursday - the biggest one-day spike – up from $2.11 on Wednesday.
Johnny Chen, who has been a driving instructor in Richmond for more than 20 years, said he still remembers gas prices when he first started teaching - it was then only 50 cents per litre.
“I miss the good old days when I didn’t need to worry about putting gas in my car. I had a set amount each month and I knew how much it was going to cost me to operate.”
“Maybe it’s time for retirement,” Chen added, with a laugh.
