Jet ski renters in Melbourne, Florida are the latest victims of the rise in gas prices.

When renting a jet ski, it always used to be that fuel was included in the price. But with the current fuel crisis, this is starting to change. One company in Florida (operating out of Melbourne and Vero Beach, Fl) has now had to start charging for the gas used by its customers.

Renting a jet ski for an hour will use up about three gallons of gas (the jet skis are on the relative calm of the Indian River). With gas currently at around $4 a gallon, that’s an extra charge of $12 for the average ride.

Of course, how the jet ski is ridden will have an impact on how much fuel is used in a certain time period. It seems fair to me that people who ride a jet ski in a more efficient way should pay less than those who use a lot of fuel. With gas making up such a large part of the costs for jet ski rentals - it seems inevitable that jet ski rental firms would start taking it into consideration.

Let’s hope that the fuel crisis is over soon and that we can get back to being able to enjoy our jet skis without having to worry about how much gas we’re using. Until then, it may be that we see more jet ski rentals charge for gas like the Melbourne Florida jet ski rental company has done.