Metro Vancouver residents may be looking forward to the long weekend, but they may not appreciate the its surging gas prices.
Earlier this year, Metro Vancouver pump prices broke North American records. Only a week prior, the previous record was broken when some stations showed 157.9 cents per litre.
Now, gas prices are expected to shoot up again over Labour Day long weekend.
Dan McTeague, a senior petroleum analyst, tweeted about the upcoming spike. According to him, prices rose on most pumps by about 3 cents on Thursday, August 30th to 153.9. From here, they will rise again, with pumps forecast to rise another 3 to 4 cents on Friday.
Gas Price 🚨 #Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to 👀 a 3 ct/l hike tomorrow to 153.9 cpl and a 4 ct/l rise Friday to 157.9 cpl. #Victoria to 👀 a similar rise unless retailers there decide to absorb the increase
— Dan McTeague (@GasBuddyDan) August 29, 2018
Gas Prices
The situation isn’t much different south of the border, either. In fact, analysts expect fuel pumps to hit 4 year highs.
“Gas prices have barely budged this summer, with the national average for regular gasoline hovering around $2.85 a gallon since mid-June. That’s down slightly from a high of nearly $3 at the end of May, but it’s still about 43 cents a gallon more than drivers paid at this time last year,” reports CNBC.
While the soaring prices effect all commuters, they have an especially negative impact on taxi drivers. As a result, the B.C. Taxi Association is asking the Passenger Transportation Board for help.
Langley RCMP have also seen a surge in the number of thieves drilling into gas tanks and siphoning out fuel. Sadly, replacing a gas tank, especially on larger vehicles, may cost thousands of dollars.
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