Iran war: Driving Miss Daisy absorbs fuel price rises so elderly passengers don’t suffer
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Companion driver service Driving Miss Daisy is absorbing the increased cost of fuel, and has chosen not to pass it on to customers.
Petrol prices are up more than 35% compared with a month ago, averaging just under $3.40 (at 12.30pm on Wednesday) as a result of Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping after it was attacked by the United States and Israel.
It’s putting pressure on a wide range of businesses, but that pressure is being felt especially keenly by businesses in the transport industry.
Driving Miss Daisy is like a taxi service used by many older and disabled people, though it also runs children to school and appointments, meaning its oldest customer is 102, and its youngest just two.
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It’s a high touch, companionable service operated through local franchises, with drivers specially trained to ensure passengers get to their destinations safely regardless of whether they are frail, in a wheelchair, or suffering from an illness or dementia.
“It’s that wraparound that distinguishes us from just a normal transport provider,” says general manager Andrew Kirkpatrick.
It fills a critical gap that taxis, rideshare and public transport can’t meet, and is a valuable source of social contact in some passengers’ lives.
But many of Driving Miss Daisy’s users aren’t flush with cash. Two-thirds are over 65, and rely on NZ Super.
And Driving Miss Daisy hopes to avoid having to pass on the price of US President Donald Trump’s war to them, especially at a time when it is driving up prices for other things like food.
“We want to try and absorb that rather than pass it on because we’re an essential service, and our clients matter to us,” Kirkpatrick says.
“To most of the people that travel with us, we are an essential service to connect them with either medical appointments, or rehabilitation, or to go shopping, or whatever it is that they need to do,” he says.
Driving Miss Daisy has analysed past fuel spikes and decided to hold fire on price rises in the hopes that the war in the Middle East will end soon and fuel prices will return to more normal levels.
“It’s not saying that we won’t have to move at some stage, but at this stage we’re doing our best to absorb it, hoping that the crisis will sort itself out before we run out of fuel, or before it gets to rationing, or supply restrictions, or whatever might come of it,” Kirkpatrick says.
If it comes to rationing, Kirkpatrick hopes Driving Miss Daisy would be recognised as an essential service, as it was during Covid pandemic lockdowns.
Driving Miss Daisy franchises run a mixed fleet of cars, including many hybrid vehicles.
As yet there are few electric vehicles with the specifications that Driving Miss Daisy needs to cope with wheelchairs, and passengers who need easy entry and exit from vehicles.
“We have a large proportion of wheelchair accessible vehicles in our fleet, and unfortunately, the market for those over the last 10 years or so hasn’t offered any suitable hybrid alternatives,” Kirkpatrick says.
Driving Miss Daisy franchises also do not store large amounts of fuel, and rely on buying it at need from petrol stations.
“We’ve relied on the powers that be in the world to make that supply available,” Kirkpatrick says.