What the fuck! (gas prices rant)

[Domitan]

The prices of gas in Southwestern Ontario are almost doubling (from the 95 cent range to 1.60-2.00 range). This has started tonight (seen in my local stations and via gasbuddy.com). I've checked some US states (including Texas, Michigan, Ohio, New York), but some haven't increased yet or have increased by 20 to 30 cents per gallon (which should account for 7 to 10 cents increase per litre with the US currency difference taken into account). Other provinces in Canada haven't taken the huge leap as far as I can see on gasbuddy.com

So what is it about SW Ontario that really surges far ahead of the pack due to oil/gas jitters???

[CHIMO]

1. Some Canadians wake to gas at $2 a litre

The New Democratic party wants the federal government to make oil companies accountable for ever-mounting fuel prices in the wake of hurricane Katrina and the expected cost of hurricane Rita.

On the same day that a Commons industry committee held a hearing on fuel and gasoline prices, some consumers awoke in Ontario to find that gas prices had lept up past $2 per litre.

The oil industry, meanwhile, is telling MPs it understands frustration over high gasoline prices.

But it says prices are set by supply and demand, and hurricane Rita may yet add more costs at the pump.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050922.wgaspric0922_2/BNStory/Front/

For anyone interested about how we got here from there:
http://canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy/1961National_Oil_Policy.html

[getmeouttahere]

2. Nothing less than nationalization of the oil industry....

but more importantly, a big commitment to alternative fuels, NOW!

If all goes well in the immigration process, I will be living and working in Montreal in a year or less. Rest assured, I will be taking the Metro virtually everywhere.

[Hand]

3. Rumours flying around Nova Scotia...

$2.50/litre on the way! Big lines at every gas station in town. :scared:

[achtung_circus]

4. Rumours yesterday

of $2.80 gas in Cambridge. A friend's daughter reported $2.00 gas from Guelph.

Neither can be confirmed on the gas price sites.

[C_Banana]

5. But what about the benefits of high gas prices?

I think personally that high gas prices are a good thing. This might finally give a push to conservation. Things like hybrid cars, biodiesel, and ethanol blended fuels might finally become more popular.

And you guys complaining about $2 per litre gas should remember that in Europe, people pay about $4 cdn per litre on gas.

[Telly Savalas]

8. A few points

1. Europe has much better public transportation than most of North America. While high gas prices might stimulate interest in transit, in the short term that doesn't help low income people who can't afford a means of getting to work.

2. High gas prices in Europe are due to taxes. When a European fills up the tank, that extra money is going into public coffers where it pays for social services. When someone in Windsor spends $2.15 a liter, that extra money goes to the oil company that owns the gas station.

[getmeouttahere]

11. Hmmm, many of the poor here in L.A.

ride the bus or train/subway. This needs to be improved in small towns as well as big cities all over North America. Pay now or pay a lot more later.

[Telly Savalas]

12. I completely agree.

But my point is that since the infrastructure isn't there yet in most places, when gas prices skyrocket it really hits the poor hard.

I actually find it kind of appalling how little the issue of public transportation gets mentioned by both the leadership of the Democratic party and here at DU.

[getmeouttahere]

14. Well, Telly, here in the U.S. of Arms...

people aren't willing to pay for it, or they elect leaders who don't believe in it. Whereas, in Canada, I can't imagine where it would be difficult to convince Canadians that it is necessary and worth the price. Of course, if we had our priorities straight, it wouldn't cost extra.

Appalling, frustrating, just a few words to describe my feelings over the lack of discussion of this topic on DU and elsewhere.

[CHIMO]

15. Some Background

For Canadians that may not be aware of how public transit was switched to private transit in the US.

http://www.ustrek.org/odyssey/semester2/021701/021701beckytransit.html

[getmeouttahere]

16. Good show, Chimo - I've heard tales of the Red Cars....

all my life, as my parents both grew up in L.A. Usually, the stories end somethings like this...

"so the car companies, oil companies and tire companies conspired to get rid of the Red Cars!!!"

[CHIMO]

18. I Was

Not familiar with the story that turned up on google. What I had understood from my time in Houston, decades ago, was that the public transit, which consisted of busses at the time, had been taken over by GM because they could be more efficient in maintenance and etc., since they were their vehicles. The net result after a time was the degradation of the service, which forced everyone to their own cars. This was the story told to me when I questioned the poor bus service in Houston.

I wasn't aware that these cities once had very good electric trams way back when. So I picked up a bit here as well.

[getmeouttahere]

19. Doesn't surprise me at all that....

a repug and oil industry-dominated city like Houston would have poor bus service. Meanwhile, L.A.'s new mayor wants major expansion of the existing subway/light rail system. A large geographic area like L.A. will always be difficult to cover with mass transit, but they must do what they can. And people have to start using it. Personally, I think they will be forced to use it more.

I've also noticed that in Montreal, they are expanding their Metro Orange line into Laval. I wonder if their is talk or work going on in Toronto and Vancouver as well.

[V. Kid]

Double post/ ignore...

[V. Kid]

6. Why is it so high in eastern Canada though...

...often BC is known for having high gas prices, but considering that it was almost 2$ in Ontario, it stayed at around 1 to 1.20 in the Vancouver area. I found that a little strange.

[Hand]

7. Heh heh... I did say rumours....

...and they turned out to be exactly that. Prices stayed at around $1.12/litre even as the panic subsided.
:blush:

[Telly Savalas]

9. Some places did jack up the prices.

Yesterday I filled up at $1.04 a litre but passed by a station that was charging $1.40 a litre on the way. In yesterday's Toronto Star there was a picture of a gas station in some place like Windsor or Hamilton where they were charging $2.15.

[V. Kid]

10. When Katrina first hit...

...there were some stations in Quebec that were shown to be charging 1.64, not as high as the stuff Telly saw in the paper, but still the prices are almost as high as they are in Europe.

[Hand]

13. The post-Katrina gouging hit here in NS, too...

Went from 1.11 to 1.39/litre in a single day, then gradually dropped back down.

[u4ic]

17. It's now under a loonie in Edmonton

99 cents...I don't even think it went up here in anticipation of Rita. It was 101.9, I filled up earlier this week expecting it to rise. Instead, I see it's down today.

[getmeouttahere]

20. Gas prices are considerably lower in Texas than California...

and that's even factoring in the taxes. So then in Canada we have the Texas equivalent for Canadians, Alberta, with lower prices. Hmmm, coincidence? I think not.