WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Burgit's Taxi Company has dispatch centers in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. The increasing gas prices are adding to the list of problems management is dealing with.
Newswatch 16 was there when the manager at Burgit's City Taxi in Wilkes-Barre was dealing with a prank call. Callers looking to play practical jokes are the least of Shawn Howell's concerns. For one, there's a shortage of drivers.
"My whole day shift, I have eight drivers all together, but you know to run comfortably, you know, you're looking at anywhere between 10 to 12 drivers and that's in both companies, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton," Howell said.
And now the company is dealing with soaring gas prices, which is hard to swallow when you're already stretched thin.
"When I looked at the gas last week, it was at $3.67 and within a matter of like three or four days, it jumped at $4.29. I'm like, how's that possible? Like, you know, how does the price gas price go from so low? Now it's $4.29. What's it going to be in two days? Nobody knows."
Business is staying in the black but that could change very quickly says Howell, especially if they had a full staff.
"Everything is just jumping up, but we haven't changed our rates at all yet. It may come to a point where the boss has to say, you know, it's time to raise rates just to stay comfortably in a zone, you know, with everything else. Not there yet. No, but it could happen."
Howell says the company buys between $500 and $600 of gas a day and that's with a short staff. He says if it gets up to over $900 a day, it could lead to changes.
Check gas prices near you with the WNEP Gas Tracker.
Jon Meyer breaks down the latest rise in gas prices on YouTube: