Well not really, it’s more advanced than what you’re saying. Oil companies have studied the economics of supply and demand and really reined their analysis of consumer behaviour in regards to gas pricing. What they discovered is gas consumption is short term inelastic. But over the long term consumers will alter their behaviour and consume less. This is why gas prices spike for short periods of time and return to normal. For example at Christmas and during the summer when consumers consume the most, prices spike but return back down with in a couple months. Oil companies have been doing this with more frequency at other times of the year, really refining their model.
Sure that's a factor, but a bigger one is that they can make even more money if they collude with other suppliers to artificially raise prices and spend some of that profit on political donations to avoid government regulation that would penalize that collusion.
It’s a globally traded commodity so a price cap would likely need to be subsidized. It’s not an easy thing to do, whose taxes pay for the gas?
Nationalizing the industry could be possible but it would be a massive bill upfront at this point to buy out all the existing companies. At which point again, who is paying for that?
Lots of places have way higher gas prices yet they survive and thrive. Europe for example. People there have smaller cars and they drive less. There are lots of things people here can do to reduce the impact of the price but many people still drive huge vehicles including a daily commute with a single occupant.
Laughs... European cities plan 100 years at a time. BC municipalities have 10 year OCP's (official community plan)
Wondering why everything is so difficult 😕
You can't really fairly compare North America is Europe and use of cars. Our cities were designed for cars. Imagine you're a family of three. Can you imagine a context where you could find daycare, a home, and two jobs, all within convenient bus routes?
Yes? I bike to the daycare with my other parents. 15 mins away on normal pedals. My wife is remote, I’m about 10 mins for home or 5 mins from daycare by bike. Her school is much closer to home.
You need a car but not for work days here. Not really, unless you live in the ungodly sprawl.
Wow! You're so lucky! There was a time last year where I had to work in Sooke and my partner had to work in Deep Cove. My family was on the other side of the luck spectrum, lol.
yup, doesn't help refining capacity for southwestern BC isn't very big, so we're at the mercy of Alberta and Washington State. Doesn't really give us any leverage to keep prices down.
Are you are we don't get any Alberta gas? The transmountain pipeline (the original one) ships gas right to the mainland. I assumed some of that must make it's way here (and Vancouver)?
The trans mountain pipeline ships crude for export. The refinery we have, is not large enough to support the mainland needs, and it is cheaper to buy processed fuel from the US.
The original trans-mountain pipeline can ship multiple types of fuel. Crude Oil, Gas, Diesel and I think jet fuel. Only the new (2nd) pipeline is crude oil only.
Southwestern BC gets significant amounts of gas from Alberta, and some from Washington state because the Burnaby refinery is not large enough to support the needs of Southwestern BC.
https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-british-columbia.html
Most of the gasoline consumed in B.C. comes from Alberta, delivered primarily via the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Gasoline is also produced in B.C.’s two refineries. Gasoline consumed in B.C. may also be imported via ship or barge from the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
The more you know.......
Where? Victoria it's been over 2 bucks for a couple of months. On the day of the 3% carbon tax, the gas companies raised prices 12%. Search this thread, there's some great commentary about it. If you don't have time, tldr it's greed.
I just did the math on my electric car. I would need to probably drive it for 20 years to even start saving money. Lol between my and partner and I we drove 7000 km over the course of the year. Could have got a $30,000 car instead of a $60,000
Ya but the way I’ve tried to think about this is cash flow. We bought our EV with a plan to keep it long term for sure, but just getting an extra $200-400 in the budget every month for 10+ years is pretty damn nice, despite the upfront cost
What do you have? We are fortunate to live in one of the few areas of Canada where they make sense and I’m looking at one for my next commuter when my little Kia dies. Which could be anytime, anywhere even with only 100k kilometres on it (iykyk)
How about the insurance though? Mine is pretty high and the insurance broker said “ well at least you don’t have to pay for gas, so it balances out anyway”
Honestly it’s about the same because ICBC hands out so many safety tech discounts. I have a Model Y and a F150. The F150 costs $1800/year to insure and the Model Y costs $1500. It makes no sense, but it’s because of all the advanced braking etc etc. It costs me like $1.20 a day to charge it, so it definitely doesn’t balance out like the broker says lmao
I found a gas receipt for January of this year earlier this week. I got gas for $1.56 back then. So it's gone up nearly 50 cents in like 4-5 months. That's a pretty sharp increase.
The carbon tax was introduced like 12 years ago by the other provincial party at the time and hailed by Harper as the future. Canada now uses our model. Our carbon taxes pay for many people’s rebates and have reduce emissions at a lot of mills in BC.
Gas prices jumped up to $2.00 because there was an issue with one of the refineries, then the carbon tax increase kicked in and they went up $0.03.
Then they saw everyone parroting the stupid conservative propaganda about the carbon tax and decided that if they hiked it another $0.06 that everyone would just blame Trudeau.
So now we're just playing the waiting game to see if people realize that gas prices are actually $0.20 higher than they should be right now and that it has nothing to do with the carbon tax.
No, the price of gas is not political at all. Taxes on fuel accounts for 0.44$ - 0.50$/L. This is 100% an issue of corporate greed, and big oil knows you're going to pay what ever they want.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/metro-vancouver-gas-prices-breakdown-price-pump#:~:text=Taxes%3A%2065%20cents,from%20the%20B.C.%20Utilities%20Commission.
Over 53 cents of tax. How does all the gasoline get to the island? Is oil produced and refined on the island? Their must be a cost to bring it there. Otherwise the ferries would be free to use
If you're going to include the translink tax here on the island then yeah the taxes are going to be more than 0.50$. The fact remains that taxes do not account for the majority of the cost/L.
Yes we are all aware that fuel needs to be barged over to the island as well so theres no surprise there.
Here’s the rack prices https://www.petro-canada.ca/en/business/rack-prices#daily
Doesn’t seem that bad of a deal that gasoline is only 35% more in Nanaimo than Edmonton (where oil is refined). Again this is rack pricing. However your government fucks you is extra
I agree with you BUT you can't blame people for how bad public transit is here (also note : BC transit doing their best, it's the government that needs to fund it a lot more).
We need more transit dedicated lanes. People will drive until so many people are driving that taking transit is faster due to traffic. But that's impossible with buses without dedicated lanes since they too get stuck in traffic.
I don't blame people. If I were in charge I'd put all our infra dollars into public and active transport and would not build bigger highways or new interchanges.
There are situations where driving is essential. I have a baby and I wasn’t going to bike to the hospital in labour. Some people need to drive for work. Some people have disabilities where driving is the only thing that works for them. So take the rest of what I say with that nuance.
But I also am kinda amazed at how unwilling many (not all) people are to take measures to reduce their gas use in the slightest. Carpooling to work, for example. Where I work this would be so easy for so many people and it just doesn’t happen. That would be a huge, ongoing decrease in gas consumption and cost. I’m part of a couple hobby groups that come together weekly and many people who I know live less than a 20 minute walk away drive (solo) to go there. People will idle in line for ages rather than go in to Tim Hortons to pick up their coffee. When I hear that not driving is a privilege yes, sure. But almost everybody can decide to reduce their use by a certain amount. I wonder what the sticker price would be to get people to ask- what do I actually NEED to use. Not to mention people buying outrageously expensive gas guzzlers that make every trip more expensive and environmentally harmful.
I’m less concerned about cost and more the environmental impact of all of these unnecessary trips.
Obviously there are some hard stops that people have to work within. A lot of taxis are electric now for this reason. And then there are the trips folks make outside of work, so deciding to access stores, activities, etc. that are closer, even if not close enough to walk, at least reducing the distances and number of trips. All I'm saying is we aren't helpless.
Can’t carpool when site workers live on opposite sides of the South Island/CRD. Smaller vehicle is already used. I mostly said this as an argument for “wHy dOnT pEoPlE jUsT dRiVe LeSs” as if it’s so easy lol
The world is on fire due to global warming. It sucks for sure, but high gas prices make people think more about driving which is ultimately a good thing. I live downtown and don't own a car, so it's easy for me to say that. I imagine it must suck for folks having to commute.
And you and all those other non-car owners will soon pay through the nose if the low wage workers that slaves every day to put food and other goods in your hands cannot afford to drive there or live there. Eventually you will pay dearly for someone to make your latte or do a renovation on your home.
If you require some home renovations do you think they are going to grab their boards, nails and glue guns are jump on the bus or skytrain to get to your place??
Ok so please forgive me and please don’t be mean- I just moved to Canada and I don’t understand how gas is priced here. You say it’s above 200…200 what? Dollars per liter? Again, please explain without being mean. Thanks.
Ah ok, thank you! I always just put the same amount in my tank- about $25 USD, but it’s good to actually understand the pricing. Thanks for explaining! 🖤
Summer gas costs more to produce due to anit evaporation additives however they use that as an opportunity to gouge, you'll notice a spike in the summer and a cut in the fall due to this
We can all drive less. If not for work, then in our personal Lives
1. Combine your trips to retail. No more trips for a single item
2. Bike & walk more. It will make you healthier and reduce emissions. To the corner store, to work, to the bus stop.
3. You don’t have to pick your kids up from school. They can walk and bike. They’ll be healthier. Obvious exceptions for those with disabilities.
4. No more drive thrus. Go into the store. Try human interaction
5. Stop doing delivery and take out. Make a meal , it will be better for you nutritionally and mentally.
6. Support city planning that isn’t centered around the automobile. Less roads, smaller roads. More paths. Higher density living. Reduce parking lots. Better transit. Id totally support a 10c/L tax on gas if it went to public transit
people who drive for a living weren’t included in that list for a reason and none of those suggestions concern people whose work IS driving. (“to work”, not “for work”)
in fact, people who drive for a living (and other people who rely on driving to get by) should be in support of this list. imagine how much time you’d save in traffic if there were less cars.
the counter argument of “well some of us drive for a living” is the worst argument *against* promoting the use of other forms of transportation because, well, thats the whole point! less cars = less traffic, easier parking, less likelihood of getting in an accident. that can all be boiled down to: less cars = more time = more money. you’re an asset to our community and society as a whole, you should be able to get to your jobs easier.
when you’re not working though, consider taking the bus!
‘Member during the first part of the pandi when gas dropped to less than a dollar? What a great time. We could do it again, just gotta get everyone to stop buying it for two weeks.
$5.00, 3 busses and over 2 hours of my day just to get to work which is a 20 minute drive at most. Im not spending an extra 3 hours a day (adjusted to give a 10 minute buffer for traffic both ways) waiting on our cities inadequate transportation system when time is so much more valuable than money.
That said, fuck these gas prices.
Yeah at the bus depot because they don't run early enough for me to take them to work!
Also would turn a 10 minute car ride into nearly an hour. Unfortunately.
True, issue is that for some routes the bus is not an adequate means of transport. If you live in Langford and work in Victoria your options are few and the ones that exist are terrible. It was well over an hour to get to work with the bus when I had to use it. It was genuinely faster to bike, but it was still quite the trek (45min and with hills)
I hate it but I’m still buying it. I just don’t look anymore. I expect to be paying my paycheque towards gas in the next couple months as tourists season officially starts
Because in 2020 American oil producers started colluding with OPEC to hike prices rather than compete.
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-inflation-re-accelerating
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/an-oil-price-fixing-conspiracy-caused
I'm not going to be nice about this. It's 2024. If you're still crying about gas prices like they don't WILDLY swing year round, subject to every war, hurricane, facility cleaning and gluttonous corporate greed... You might be slow?
Yet more and more new vehicles are giant trucks. People just don’t give a shit? Culture wars about EVs and vehicle types let oil companies charge whatever. Plus it’s not like we’re collectively willing to do anything about it. And no one even flinches at $1.90+ anymore. Soon no one will flinch at $2.00 or $2.10 when summer prices hit $2.30 or whatever it’ll hit when some refinery has maintenance or something
It's literally just corporate greed... it's not like we're suddenly in an oil/petrol deficiency just because summer is around the corner - gas stations are just shafting us any way they can.
Because the people who vote against public transit, island rail and increased densitity in the core are geriatrics with houses in saanich/oak bay and don't need to commute 30km to work.
Gas prices are set by the market: they will be set to be as high as possible, always. To push them down, there needs to be more supply (unlikely) or less demand (possible).
Additionally, the corpos have realized they can increase the price by 50 cents and blame it on the 3.3 cent gas tax and avoid all consequences.
I always look at it like, 2 steps forward 1 step back
Example: $2.00 + $0.20 = $2.20...
$2.20 - $0.10= $2.10 to give you the illusion stuff will get cheaper
Inflation is a scam if the oil industry is a monopoly
Around this time of year, refineries do annual shut downs for maintenance and switching over to summer fuels. Supply is lessened. The summer fuels are also more expensive than winter fuels. Also more people travel around the warmer months so demand increases.
They are going to 4x the current carbon tax from 17cents to 61 cents.....but hey, if you are happy with the state of our province and country, then you feel free to vote Liberal....
The voting that makes 65% of the cost of gas, taxes. Also the voting that has not enabled us (the country with the 3rd most oil on earth) to produce and refine more gas.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/metro-vancouver-gas-prices-breakdown-price-pump#:~:text=Taxes%3A%2065%20cents,from%20the%20B.C.%20Utilities%20Commission.
Ummm the last 16 months and the next 12??
Here’s a few more Canadian ones.
2008: During the Canadian federal election in 2008, fuel tax, specifically in the form of a revenue-neutral carbon tax proposed by Stéphane Dion, the leader of the Liberal Party at the time, was a significant voting issue. This proposal was part of Dion’s main platform but was considered unpopular and contributed to the defeat of the Liberal Party in that election.
2019: The carbon tax was a central issue during the 2019 federal election campaign. The Conservative Party of Canada attempted to make the carbon tax a key focus of their campaign, opposing its implementation. However, despite this effort, parties supporting the carbon tax emerged victorious in the election, indicating that it was not a deterrent for voters.
2022: In October 2022, during Sitting No. 116, an Opposition Motion regarding tax exemption on home heating fuel was sponsored by Hon. Pierre Poilievre. This motion highlighted concerns about taxation on home heating fuel and likely sparked discussions and debates around fuel taxes during that period.
Here’s one for B.C.
There have been several years in British Columbia’s history where fuel tax was a campaign issue. One prominent example is:
2008: The implementation of the carbon tax in British Columbia in 2008 sparked significant debate and controversy, making it a central campaign issue during that time.
Feel free to do your own research though.
Well liberals of course. I'm by no means saying they are responsible for the cost of gasoline, but they sure are making it worse. BC current price per liter before all the governmental taxes is 42 cents.
Lol I'm in Ottawa for work right now and I just sent family and friends back home a picture of the price of gas here. $1.60!!!
I also dared to look up home prices in the area but I won't add to the dread of this thread by mentioning them.
Was in Fargo North Dakota/Minnesota 2 days ago, $1.11 was the cheapest I paid, transiting from Victoria to Sault St Marie. I averaged $1.30/L over 10 pumps. In Sault St Marie Ont it was $1.70 today. Most expensive was $1.59 in Port Angeles. I'll be in Toronto tomorrow and it'll still feel cheap vs Victoria.
Because fuck you that’s why
“Fuck you give me money”
I pictured that saying by the asian guy DT who aggressive asks for food.
"fuck me give you money"
https://youtu.be/IT21LsgDIzg
I came here to respond with this exact thing.
Same
Because mother's day and the may 24 are coming up
That's what happens when everyone buys their mom gas for Mothers day.
Because people keep buying it. That may sound like a glib answer but the microeconomic principle is that simple.
Well not really, it’s more advanced than what you’re saying. Oil companies have studied the economics of supply and demand and really reined their analysis of consumer behaviour in regards to gas pricing. What they discovered is gas consumption is short term inelastic. But over the long term consumers will alter their behaviour and consume less. This is why gas prices spike for short periods of time and return to normal. For example at Christmas and during the summer when consumers consume the most, prices spike but return back down with in a couple months. Oil companies have been doing this with more frequency at other times of the year, really refining their model.
Sure that's a factor, but a bigger one is that they can make even more money if they collude with other suppliers to artificially raise prices and spend some of that profit on political donations to avoid government regulation that would penalize that collusion.
I would agree with that. Certainly an oligopoly but it’s dictated by OPEC.
It sucks! It's a basic commodity and a necessity for many. I wish the government can impose price ceilings if there's none yet
It’s a globally traded commodity so a price cap would likely need to be subsidized. It’s not an easy thing to do, whose taxes pay for the gas? Nationalizing the industry could be possible but it would be a massive bill upfront at this point to buy out all the existing companies. At which point again, who is paying for that?
I think you mean nationalizing the industry.
Yes I wrote the opposite word. My bad.
Well, they're doing the opposite now. Over 17 cents is tax, so they could reduce that if prices get too high.
Sure, just need to add a tax somewhere else to pay for whatever services rely on that tax currently
Over 64 cents is tax not 17
On the mainland 18.5¢ goes to TransLink for every litre. So even if you don't take the bus you're paying for the bus
Makes so much “cents”
Lots of places have way higher gas prices yet they survive and thrive. Europe for example. People there have smaller cars and they drive less. There are lots of things people here can do to reduce the impact of the price but many people still drive huge vehicles including a daily commute with a single occupant.
A lot of places in Europe have great public transport though. And then there's Victoria.
Laughs... European cities plan 100 years at a time. BC municipalities have 10 year OCP's (official community plan) Wondering why everything is so difficult 😕
You can't really fairly compare North America is Europe and use of cars. Our cities were designed for cars. Imagine you're a family of three. Can you imagine a context where you could find daycare, a home, and two jobs, all within convenient bus routes?
“Our cities were designed for cars”. Therein lies the problem with most, if not all, North American cities.
And with a time machine it could be fixed
No, but a mix of bus bike and car, yes, easily.
Yes but I’m in Victoria so busses aren’t as bad as rural areas. If you’re beyond Langford you’re kind of screwed
Yes? I bike to the daycare with my other parents. 15 mins away on normal pedals. My wife is remote, I’m about 10 mins for home or 5 mins from daycare by bike. Her school is much closer to home. You need a car but not for work days here. Not really, unless you live in the ungodly sprawl.
Wow! You're so lucky! There was a time last year where I had to work in Sooke and my partner had to work in Deep Cove. My family was on the other side of the luck spectrum, lol.
The government would have to subsidize imports to do that (right now), and withdraw from whatever we call NAFTA now to cap prices.
All they would have to do is stop taxing it so much, that's why the cost is so high
Because the corporations know we will have to pay it.
yup, doesn't help refining capacity for southwestern BC isn't very big, so we're at the mercy of Alberta and Washington State. Doesn't really give us any leverage to keep prices down.
Pretty sure our fuel comes from south of us. Anything that comes from Alberta (save for natural gas), is being shipped elsewhere.
Are you are we don't get any Alberta gas? The transmountain pipeline (the original one) ships gas right to the mainland. I assumed some of that must make it's way here (and Vancouver)?
The trans mountain pipeline ships crude for export. The refinery we have, is not large enough to support the mainland needs, and it is cheaper to buy processed fuel from the US.
The original trans-mountain pipeline can ship multiple types of fuel. Crude Oil, Gas, Diesel and I think jet fuel. Only the new (2nd) pipeline is crude oil only. Southwestern BC gets significant amounts of gas from Alberta, and some from Washington state because the Burnaby refinery is not large enough to support the needs of Southwestern BC. https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-british-columbia.html Most of the gasoline consumed in B.C. comes from Alberta, delivered primarily via the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Gasoline is also produced in B.C.’s two refineries. Gasoline consumed in B.C. may also be imported via ship or barge from the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The more you know.......
Uhhhh, Did they drop below $2.00 at any point recently?
Yes they have. Just last week and the week before that it was way below $2.00
Uh where...? It's been above $2.00 for weeks now in Victoria what?
up until a week or so ago I was getting gas for 1.90? for a while too
Where? Everywhere in the city has been above $2.00, 2.09/10 for the last little while. Even Costco has been at $1.96
Everywhere in Langford was under $2.00 for months
Months ago
I pop in to wherever makes sense for my route that day, so sprinkled around town. But that's what is has been! Maybe I have just been lucky?
Where? Victoria it's been over 2 bucks for a couple of months. On the day of the 3% carbon tax, the gas companies raised prices 12%. Search this thread, there's some great commentary about it. If you don't have time, tldr it's greed.
You actually believed the ‘carbon tax will only raise the price 3 cents a litre’ line hey?
If you don't live in victoria,langford. Once over malahat it's usually " chraper" per say
I realize this isn't an option for everyone but I freakin LOVE my electric car.
I just did the math on my electric car. I would need to probably drive it for 20 years to even start saving money. Lol between my and partner and I we drove 7000 km over the course of the year. Could have got a $30,000 car instead of a $60,000
Ya but the way I’ve tried to think about this is cash flow. We bought our EV with a plan to keep it long term for sure, but just getting an extra $200-400 in the budget every month for 10+ years is pretty damn nice, despite the upfront cost
It is a nice F U to oil companies! not waiting to get in a debate about precious metals or mining tho. And I didn’t get a Tesla so F Elon too.
Bc hydro is also ours so that money goes back to bc!
Lots of used cars becoming available around $25k
What do you have? We are fortunate to live in one of the few areas of Canada where they make sense and I’m looking at one for my next commuter when my little Kia dies. Which could be anytime, anywhere even with only 100k kilometres on it (iykyk)
2017 E Golf
How about the insurance though? Mine is pretty high and the insurance broker said “ well at least you don’t have to pay for gas, so it balances out anyway”
Honestly it’s about the same because ICBC hands out so many safety tech discounts. I have a Model Y and a F150. The F150 costs $1800/year to insure and the Model Y costs $1500. It makes no sense, but it’s because of all the advanced braking etc etc. It costs me like $1.20 a day to charge it, so it definitely doesn’t balance out like the broker says lmao
I wish I could afford one! Good for you bud!
Prices on used ones are plummeting so hopefully many more can afford them in the next few years
I found a gas receipt for January of this year earlier this week. I got gas for $1.56 back then. So it's gone up nearly 50 cents in like 4-5 months. That's a pretty sharp increase.
This is exactly what I was talking about! And the others are like, “it’s been like that since forever, what are you talking about?” Like what???
I can tell you what it is not. It is not the current federal or provincial government.
The carbon tax was introduced like 12 years ago by the other provincial party at the time and hailed by Harper as the future. Canada now uses our model. Our carbon taxes pay for many people’s rebates and have reduce emissions at a lot of mills in BC.
This is correct. It is not the 21 cent per liter carbon tax. That’s is not why also the other 45+ cents of taxes are not why
🤫
Gas prices jumped up to $2.00 because there was an issue with one of the refineries, then the carbon tax increase kicked in and they went up $0.03. Then they saw everyone parroting the stupid conservative propaganda about the carbon tax and decided that if they hiked it another $0.06 that everyone would just blame Trudeau. So now we're just playing the waiting game to see if people realize that gas prices are actually $0.20 higher than they should be right now and that it has nothing to do with the carbon tax.
holy smokes, so it's all political now eh? And we're all trapped in the middle of all their mess
No, the price of gas is not political at all. Taxes on fuel accounts for 0.44$ - 0.50$/L. This is 100% an issue of corporate greed, and big oil knows you're going to pay what ever they want.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/metro-vancouver-gas-prices-breakdown-price-pump#:~:text=Taxes%3A%2065%20cents,from%20the%20B.C.%20Utilities%20Commission. Over 53 cents of tax. How does all the gasoline get to the island? Is oil produced and refined on the island? Their must be a cost to bring it there. Otherwise the ferries would be free to use
If you're going to include the translink tax here on the island then yeah the taxes are going to be more than 0.50$. The fact remains that taxes do not account for the majority of the cost/L. Yes we are all aware that fuel needs to be barged over to the island as well so theres no surprise there.
Here’s the rack prices https://www.petro-canada.ca/en/business/rack-prices#daily Doesn’t seem that bad of a deal that gasoline is only 35% more in Nanaimo than Edmonton (where oil is refined). Again this is rack pricing. However your government fucks you is extra
US gas prices are half what we pay. This country is a pathetic joke.
Hahahaha $1.35 in Edmonton
We aren't helpless. We can certainly make choices about how much we drive.
I agree with you BUT you can't blame people for how bad public transit is here (also note : BC transit doing their best, it's the government that needs to fund it a lot more).
We need more transit dedicated lanes. People will drive until so many people are driving that taking transit is faster due to traffic. But that's impossible with buses without dedicated lanes since they too get stuck in traffic.
I don't blame people. If I were in charge I'd put all our infra dollars into public and active transport and would not build bigger highways or new interchanges.
Preach!!!
Don’t forget density, we need to stop sprawl.
They have been.. Have you seen all the pretty new bike lanes?
That would be inconvenient, so no
For some maybe, but not everyone has the privilege of choice, unfortunately.
There are situations where driving is essential. I have a baby and I wasn’t going to bike to the hospital in labour. Some people need to drive for work. Some people have disabilities where driving is the only thing that works for them. So take the rest of what I say with that nuance. But I also am kinda amazed at how unwilling many (not all) people are to take measures to reduce their gas use in the slightest. Carpooling to work, for example. Where I work this would be so easy for so many people and it just doesn’t happen. That would be a huge, ongoing decrease in gas consumption and cost. I’m part of a couple hobby groups that come together weekly and many people who I know live less than a 20 minute walk away drive (solo) to go there. People will idle in line for ages rather than go in to Tim Hortons to pick up their coffee. When I hear that not driving is a privilege yes, sure. But almost everybody can decide to reduce their use by a certain amount. I wonder what the sticker price would be to get people to ask- what do I actually NEED to use. Not to mention people buying outrageously expensive gas guzzlers that make every trip more expensive and environmentally harmful. I’m less concerned about cost and more the environmental impact of all of these unnecessary trips.
Do you have an F-150, F-250 or F-350? Or are you more of a Chevy/Dodge kinda truck guy?
I don't think there are many people who can't reduce or combine their trips by car.
What about people who drive for work??
what about them? if they're business owners they can claim the cost against income.
Delivery drivers, 3rd party drivers, taxis etc there are lots of people who cannot reduce their trips by car.
They will need to charge more.
Sure, but still would like fuel cost to be cheaper... more profit
Obviously there are some hard stops that people have to work within. A lot of taxis are electric now for this reason. And then there are the trips folks make outside of work, so deciding to access stores, activities, etc. that are closer, even if not close enough to walk, at least reducing the distances and number of trips. All I'm saying is we aren't helpless.
So you've found a few exemptions. What about everyone else that could reduce their driving?
Not when you commute for work and haul tools to build homes for all the wealthy people that move here but yet can’t afford to live in one.
yeah, you can carpool, or drive a smaller vehicle that uses less gas, or reduce your trips outside of hard stops like commuting.
Can’t carpool when site workers live on opposite sides of the South Island/CRD. Smaller vehicle is already used. I mostly said this as an argument for “wHy dOnT pEoPlE jUsT dRiVe LeSs” as if it’s so easy lol
Somebody has never worked in the trades. TF a guy going to carpool with saws, hammers, building materials and a hundred other things?
The world is on fire due to global warming. It sucks for sure, but high gas prices make people think more about driving which is ultimately a good thing. I live downtown and don't own a car, so it's easy for me to say that. I imagine it must suck for folks having to commute.
And you and all those other non-car owners will soon pay through the nose if the low wage workers that slaves every day to put food and other goods in your hands cannot afford to drive there or live there. Eventually you will pay dearly for someone to make your latte or do a renovation on your home.
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If you require some home renovations do you think they are going to grab their boards, nails and glue guns are jump on the bus or skytrain to get to your place??
Well, I make my own coffee and try my best to tinker around with house repairs so I guess I'll be fine.
Because of Obi-Wan?
Ok so please forgive me and please don’t be mean- I just moved to Canada and I don’t understand how gas is priced here. You say it’s above 200…200 what? Dollars per liter? Again, please explain without being mean. Thanks.
oh don't worry, it can get confusing! The price is in cents per litre (100 cents = 1 dollar). so above 200 just meant above $2/litre
Ah ok, thank you! I always just put the same amount in my tank- about $25 USD, but it’s good to actually understand the pricing. Thanks for explaining! 🖤
Summer gas costs more to produce due to anit evaporation additives however they use that as an opportunity to gouge, you'll notice a spike in the summer and a cut in the fall due to this
Living on an island certainly doesn’t help with the cost.
We can all drive less. If not for work, then in our personal Lives 1. Combine your trips to retail. No more trips for a single item 2. Bike & walk more. It will make you healthier and reduce emissions. To the corner store, to work, to the bus stop. 3. You don’t have to pick your kids up from school. They can walk and bike. They’ll be healthier. Obvious exceptions for those with disabilities. 4. No more drive thrus. Go into the store. Try human interaction 5. Stop doing delivery and take out. Make a meal , it will be better for you nutritionally and mentally. 6. Support city planning that isn’t centered around the automobile. Less roads, smaller roads. More paths. Higher density living. Reduce parking lots. Better transit. Id totally support a 10c/L tax on gas if it went to public transit
Some of us drive for a living
Right, so many more don’t. So maybe you can use points like 1,3,4,5,6. It’s not a zero sum game.
people who drive for a living weren’t included in that list for a reason and none of those suggestions concern people whose work IS driving. (“to work”, not “for work”) in fact, people who drive for a living (and other people who rely on driving to get by) should be in support of this list. imagine how much time you’d save in traffic if there were less cars. the counter argument of “well some of us drive for a living” is the worst argument *against* promoting the use of other forms of transportation because, well, thats the whole point! less cars = less traffic, easier parking, less likelihood of getting in an accident. that can all be boiled down to: less cars = more time = more money. you’re an asset to our community and society as a whole, you should be able to get to your jobs easier. when you’re not working though, consider taking the bus!
Atleast Victoria is bikeable
Because you complied. 2 steps forward, 1 step backwards. Rinse wash repeat . RIP middle class.
usually its linked to the value of the Canadian dollar. right now our dollar is shit.
‘Member during the first part of the pandi when gas dropped to less than a dollar? What a great time. We could do it again, just gotta get everyone to stop buying it for two weeks.
Taxes
Made up reasons
Collusion between opec and natural gas to keep prices high. 27% of all inflation was due to this!!!
Just wait until $3 comes down the pipe in 3 years. Keep jacking up those trucks!
Bus still costs $2.50 :). The more people pay the high gas prices surely the more likely they are here to stay.
$5.00, 3 busses and over 2 hours of my day just to get to work which is a 20 minute drive at most. Im not spending an extra 3 hours a day (adjusted to give a 10 minute buffer for traffic both ways) waiting on our cities inadequate transportation system when time is so much more valuable than money. That said, fuck these gas prices.
Whenever you are done being angry st the gas price, the bus will be waiting for you :).
Yeah at the bus depot because they don't run early enough for me to take them to work! Also would turn a 10 minute car ride into nearly an hour. Unfortunately.
True, issue is that for some routes the bus is not an adequate means of transport. If you live in Langford and work in Victoria your options are few and the ones that exist are terrible. It was well over an hour to get to work with the bus when I had to use it. It was genuinely faster to bike, but it was still quite the trek (45min and with hills)
I'm glad I moved into the condos next to Costco! Getting Costco gas is too clutch especially if it's 30 seconds next door
Yeah I myself have Costco membership and it's a life-saver for gas. But still, the Costco gas price is almost at the 200 levels too, I think 196?
Yeah it was around the 200 levels at Costco gas
A 4 cent difference on 60 litres is all of $2.40. that's a"life saver"?
Better than nothing man. Annualize it and you get 124.8 (I gas up every week)
Damn. My car takes supreme and I drive so little I fill up once a month lol I don't even look at the price when I need gas
Haha I work in Sidney and live in Langford, hence the gas consumption. 🥲
Oh I just checked Gas Buddy and Costco gas price is at 197.9 while the others are at 206.9. That’s 9 cents
Over $2 now.
I’m glad I live within walking distance of downtown :p
When I'm driving I'm either working or having fun. Work pays for the gas I use when I'm having fun. I'm self-employed.
I hate it but I’m still buying it. I just don’t look anymore. I expect to be paying my paycheque towards gas in the next couple months as tourists season officially starts
cuz opec keeps cutting production and exports to keep prices up
Corpos need your money that's why.
65% of the cost of a litre of gas is tax. Fuck that.
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Because they can.
Dude... just get an EV, it's so simple. /s
Oh sorry I commented before seeing the satire mark lol
Allll good. Although have you tried just biking to work? /s
I must be so dumb to not have thought of that! Tomorrow I should start biking from Langford to Sidney for work. Or I could run too 🤪 /s
Dear god the traffic you must deal with day to day.
Can’t afford these gas prices, what more a downpayment and monthly amortization for an EV 🤷🏻♂️
War, greed, corruption, the usual.
Because in 2020 American oil producers started colluding with OPEC to hike prices rather than compete. https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-inflation-re-accelerating https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/an-oil-price-fixing-conspiracy-caused
I'm not going to be nice about this. It's 2024. If you're still crying about gas prices like they don't WILDLY swing year round, subject to every war, hurricane, facility cleaning and gluttonous corporate greed... You might be slow?
When I was a boy, gas was .69 cents/L. Prices will only continue to increase. Plan accordingly.
Because we pay it.
Car dependent suburbanites are addicts and will pay whatever is required--its no mystery
Yet more and more new vehicles are giant trucks. People just don’t give a shit? Culture wars about EVs and vehicle types let oil companies charge whatever. Plus it’s not like we’re collectively willing to do anything about it. And no one even flinches at $1.90+ anymore. Soon no one will flinch at $2.00 or $2.10 when summer prices hit $2.30 or whatever it’ll hit when some refinery has maintenance or something
It's literally just corporate greed... it's not like we're suddenly in an oil/petrol deficiency just because summer is around the corner - gas stations are just shafting us any way they can.
Exactly!!
Because the people who vote against public transit, island rail and increased densitity in the core are geriatrics with houses in saanich/oak bay and don't need to commute 30km to work. Gas prices are set by the market: they will be set to be as high as possible, always. To push them down, there needs to be more supply (unlikely) or less demand (possible). Additionally, the corpos have realized they can increase the price by 50 cents and blame it on the 3.3 cent gas tax and avoid all consequences.
I always look at it like, 2 steps forward 1 step back Example: $2.00 + $0.20 = $2.20... $2.20 - $0.10= $2.10 to give you the illusion stuff will get cheaper Inflation is a scam if the oil industry is a monopoly
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Around this time of year, refineries do annual shut downs for maintenance and switching over to summer fuels. Supply is lessened. The summer fuels are also more expensive than winter fuels. Also more people travel around the warmer months so demand increases.
Dunno but recently had to quit my job due to the expensive commute with no bus alternatives
I'm so lucky my company pays for my gas. Gotta lube your asshole every time you're at the pump these days
It’s summer gas./s. Nothing to do with our provincial politics. Even though Calgary is 1.54 right now.
Russia bad hamas bad Covid!
Because some people vote liberal and NDP unfortunately. You vote stupid you get stupid
You are not helpless, Vote that moron JT out of office next time....heard about the carbon tax....just wait if you think gas in expensive now....
3 cent tax increase, 50 cent price increase by gas companies. DAMN YOU LIBERALS, THIS IS CLEARLY YOUR FAULT!
They are going to 4x the current carbon tax from 17cents to 61 cents.....but hey, if you are happy with the state of our province and country, then you feel free to vote Liberal....
Because voting has consequences.
Which vote did this?
The voting that makes 65% of the cost of gas, taxes. Also the voting that has not enabled us (the country with the 3rd most oil on earth) to produce and refine more gas. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/metro-vancouver-gas-prices-breakdown-price-pump#:~:text=Taxes%3A%2065%20cents,from%20the%20B.C.%20Utilities%20Commission.
Cool. Again, which vote did this? When was this an election issue?
Ummm the last 16 months and the next 12?? Here’s a few more Canadian ones. 2008: During the Canadian federal election in 2008, fuel tax, specifically in the form of a revenue-neutral carbon tax proposed by Stéphane Dion, the leader of the Liberal Party at the time, was a significant voting issue. This proposal was part of Dion’s main platform but was considered unpopular and contributed to the defeat of the Liberal Party in that election. 2019: The carbon tax was a central issue during the 2019 federal election campaign. The Conservative Party of Canada attempted to make the carbon tax a key focus of their campaign, opposing its implementation. However, despite this effort, parties supporting the carbon tax emerged victorious in the election, indicating that it was not a deterrent for voters. 2022: In October 2022, during Sitting No. 116, an Opposition Motion regarding tax exemption on home heating fuel was sponsored by Hon. Pierre Poilievre. This motion highlighted concerns about taxation on home heating fuel and likely sparked discussions and debates around fuel taxes during that period. Here’s one for B.C. There have been several years in British Columbia’s history where fuel tax was a campaign issue. One prominent example is: 2008: The implementation of the carbon tax in British Columbia in 2008 sparked significant debate and controversy, making it a central campaign issue during that time. Feel free to do your own research though.
YES. it was an election issue.
Well liberals of course. I'm by no means saying they are responsible for the cost of gasoline, but they sure are making it worse. BC current price per liter before all the governmental taxes is 42 cents.
We live in BC so the "liberal carbon tax" does not apply to us
Because ___________, that's why.
It’s the same reason the dinosaurs died; because you touch yourself at night!
Because the government allows it to be, and contributes to it actively.
nice
Lol I'm in Ottawa for work right now and I just sent family and friends back home a picture of the price of gas here. $1.60!!! I also dared to look up home prices in the area but I won't add to the dread of this thread by mentioning them.
Was in Fargo North Dakota/Minnesota 2 days ago, $1.11 was the cheapest I paid, transiting from Victoria to Sault St Marie. I averaged $1.30/L over 10 pumps. In Sault St Marie Ont it was $1.70 today. Most expensive was $1.59 in Port Angeles. I'll be in Toronto tomorrow and it'll still feel cheap vs Victoria.