You could call it shock at the pumps.
“Way too high,” fumes Tyler Kennedy, a construction worker filling up early Tuesday morning at the Esso station on St Jean in Pointe Claire. “It’s $1.39.9 like it’s … no, no!”
Gas prices shot up across the island of Montreal overnight, hitting the highest they’ve been since late last summer when prices were $1.41 in some places due to Hurricane Harvey.
This time, some drivers say they just can’t understand why the price of gas is climbing so quickly.
“Over 20 cents in one day, that’s just nuts,” says businessman Raphael Domaszewski at a Petro Canada station in Little Burgundy. “It just takes away all my income away from me and my family.”
But Montrealers can count themselves lucky, for now. British Columbia hit an all-time high last week of $1.55.9 a litre.
According to CAA Quebec, there are a few reasons for the recent increases.
“It’s spring, explains spokesperson Annie Gauthier. “People are travelling more, they are making longer distances, and some would compare the actual demand to a summer demand.”
She also says it’s because there’s less oil on the market even though the demand is going up, and the fact that crude oil is bought in US dollars. To help save some money at the pumps, CAA has some advice — change your driving habits.
“Optimize your trips,” she stresses. “If you have to get out for some errands, try to do them all at the same time. “Be careful how you drive. Of course, if you accelerate really quickly, you will, of course, use more gas.”
Also, price increases usually happen on a Tuesday, only to drop a few cents later on in the week. So some people get gas on the weekends to avoid the huge hikes.
Others have more radical ways of saving.
“I use my bike or walk or run, use a canoe if I have to,” grins Allan Manus on a running break. “Whatever I have to do to not drive my car.”
Tips that might come in handy sooner rather than later, since some experts are predicting that prices could go as high as $1.45 a litre in Montreal by the start of the summer.
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