It was another painful day at the pumps for London, Ont., after the price of gas saw a sharp rise overnight.
By Friday morning, the average price of gas per litre across London stations rose five cents to hit $1.94.9, marking an all-time high for the Forest City.
“I knew it was going up, but I guess I was shocked because I filled up a week ago and it was $1.75,” said Karen Magowan, one of several drivers Global News spoke with on Friday morning.
The sticker shock at the pumps is a hopeless sight for Magowan, who feels there’s no way around paying for expensive gas if you need to drive.
“People still have to live and I think transportation’s important, especially in a town like London.”
The price was even higher for Luke Smith-Kelly, whose vehicle requires premium fuel.
“Being a student, I don’t make full-time living wage, I just work one job during the year and another one in the summer, and it’s hard to go anywhere when you’re paying $2.22 (a litre) for gas,” Smith-Kelly said.
“I used to be the guy that would pick anyone up from anywhere. You need a ride home from the bars? You need a ride to the library? I’d drive them, but to be honest with you, (students) all have a bus pass, so I’ve been laying low and trying not to drive whenever I can.”
Friday’s price came as no surprise to Phil McCausland, who says he’s been paying a lot for gas for a long time.
“I have to drive for work, like a lot of people. I commute and I actually work in Toronto part of the time, so I’m driving a lot these days and I need wheels when I’m there, otherwise I’d take the train or something else,” McCausland said.
McCausland sees no end in sight to rising prices, adding that he believes gas will be even more expensive in the future.
“I think we’re going to look back at this time and this last decade as an era of cheap gas.”
If the latest forecasts are true, McCausland’s belief is correct, at least for this weekend.
According to Gaswizard.ca, London’s average price of gas is expected to rise another penny by Saturday.
Dan McTeague, the gas analyst behind Gas Wizard and the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, told Global News there will likely be another increase on Sunday.
“The reality is that the world is suffering from a global shortage of oil, and of course diesel, which is impacting gasoline as well,” McTeague said.
On top of a shortage, McTeague says a weak Canadian dollar is also to blame for rising prices.
“The days of under $1.50 a litre are over, unless we go into a global recession, and I think that this could very well cause that.”
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