And what's wrong with "excess profit"? Absolutely nothing. People need to start looking for ways to minimize their reliance on gas instead of just complaining about it.

I started carpooling about three months ago. That puts about two to three dollars into my pocket each day instead of the pockets of the petrol people. I don't particularly enjoy carpooling but I like the money in my pocket.

You've got the right idea faxman. Of course, that won't stop people from complaining, that's what they love to do. Gas prices are an easy target.

Going to fill up right now. Could care less if it's $1.00 or $1.50, I need it, I want it, I'ma gonna get it!

I fill my car for about $44 every payday and that gets through til the next 2 weeks. I sure don't miss filling up the gas pig we used to drive. Now we chuckle about the price fluctuations because if we fill up 3 days before the holiday, we skip over the highs.

When we were shopping for a new car, we did consider a hybrid. It just did not make economic sense to spend $10,000 more for the same vehicle when the gain was only 2 or 3 L/100KM. The ROI was not there especially when one considers the fact the fuel economy is only 11% of TCO. Then when you consider that it is battery technology using rare metals et el, there was very little green about it.

Right now we estimate we are getting 6.9 L/100 KM combined. We mostly drive into town for work and groceries. Not bad!

Kudos on your carpooling, but unfortunately the trucks that transport our commodities don't have that luxury. Gas prices affect everyone as we all pay higher prices for our food etc. Good that some can feel insular and unaffected by gas prices, the problem is that you most definitely are not. We need to unite and stand up against this gouging. The more complaining the better. We can't afford to just roll over and play dead. Profitability plays a part in every business, rape and pillaging should not.

Well junco, I agree with some of your statements, but until there is a readily available portable energy source, we will use fossil fuels till they are gone. yes, the price is partly due to greedy gouging by suppliers, but it is still and supply and demand economy, they have supply, we demand not to walk. We could get a collective together to import fuel from Alberta, even after shipping costs we may win. I doubt it would work because that would take effort on many individuals part.

What we need to do is change our life styles away from driving at every opportunity. Thus reducing demand, and with that the price. Can it be done? Mostly! Mostly because every one wants to drive the big comfy SUV or one tonne so they can have all the amenities of home while camping or traveling and bring the huge comfy boat and the ATV. Very few walk to the store any more even though it is only a kilometer or two. Very few plan their shopping excursions to minimize total miles driven.

They will not develop a viable affordable electric or hydrogen vehicle until all the oil is gone or market pressure forces it. The auto industry and the oil industry have been in bed together so long the auto makers have no idea how to get past it. It will not be the NA big 3 that succeed at breaking the connection to oil. Toyota, Honda, and VW are leading the charge. go figure that it would be a traditionalist society that actually innovates.

Fix the roads! Down with the PAC! The Cameron Street Bridge is a joke! Speeding tickets should be outlawed! Oops, I just realized that this isn't the Friday Free for All thread . . .

In that case, the oil companies are screwing us! LOL :)

Loki, I'm with you on this one. For the most part, people have a direct impact on the amount of gas they use due to their own choices. Choices on what vehicle they drive, choices on what recreation they partake in, etc. I fish, therefore I own a truck and tow a boat. I pay more in gas costs because of it. That's my choice and nobody is putting a gun to my head to do that. I don't have a God given right to cheap gas and nor does anyone else. Want to spend less on gas? Use less of it. It's that simple folks. Whether it's 80 cents a litre or 1.25 a litre, it still holds true.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the mall to look at all of the 1 tons without a scratch in the box or mark on the receiver hitch . . . LOL.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Gas prices last year were much higher. Then they dropped as the recession hit. Slowly the price of oil is increasing and there are signs that the recession is nearing an end, or at least some would like to believe that.

I think that unlike previous times, gasoline prices will continue to stay high and go back up to what they were last year. Get used to it and alter your lifestyle to use less if you can. We will all benefit from it.

As far as trucking goes. We have grown far too dependent on the convenience. Trucking is not only costly from the point of view of fuel, it is even more costly from the point of view of wages for the driver.

Imagine a train with a person on board of every railcar. When you imagine that, you are imagining the long distance trucking industry.

Not to forget about the hydroplaning on water due to the ruts in highways primarily there due to the heavy vehicles, not passenger vehicles.

AS to the vehicles that we choose to drive, it would be nice if there were a family fleet rate for insurance. They idea is that we could have our cake and eat it to. It is prohibitively expensive to insure more than one vehicle. If for a modest fee, we could have a fleet rate or even a transferable or duplicate plate so we could have the economy car for most of the time and the "recreation vehicle" for the weekends. This way we can squeeze every drop for daily commutes and groceries. Only use the RV (4x4, motor home, ATV, boat) for recreation.

I think it makes sense.

yeah gus! sorry your post appeared after I clicked submit.

Hell yeah! There should be no long distance trucks. Anything that goes beyond the next municipality should be by rail. Multiple positive effects with this. The rail industry could grow, a lot less fuel would be used, and the roads would not get pounded so hard. Not to mention the trucking industry would not push its drivers into illegal and unsafe practices like double log books to hide being on shift too long. Or drivers using a hole in the floor under the drivers seat so they can "dump a load" without stopping.

You just have to love self righteous people that tell us we should be happy we're only paying $1.06. I guess getting a product at a fair price isn't important to you. I hope your food prices start going up, and maybe Walmart will close down and you'll have to start paying a realistic price for products.

Hey has anyone had the APX alarm come by there house? Are they a scam?

Does APX alarm sell gasoline?

The rise of price isn't the issue so much as the lame excuses they use...short of gas in Alberta so we have an increase here???..and the refinery is just across the river...I say all lies.....

I hope gas goes up to $20 bucks a litre. Get all these so called pretty women who smoke and blow their exhaust fumes out will be forced to ride a bicycle. Ha lol what a joke and they even will say they can't ride in winter. Hmmm well I do and have for many many years dudes. You people are lazy. Go cry to your mother. Booo hoooo the gas is up. Let me go grab ya glass of water and a pack of blades.

Someone is off their medication.

"I guess getting a product at a fair price isn't important to you. I hope your food prices start going up, and maybe Walmart will close down and you'll have to start paying a realistic price for products"

That's fine but what is "fair"? You can go to 6 different stores in town and pay a differnt price for a can of pork and beans. Which price is fair? The highest, say from BC owned Overwaitea? Or the lowest, say from US owned Walmart? Maybe the mid price, say from Superstore? Given that all three sell the pork and beans that they stock, one would assume that all of their prices are fair in the eye of the consumer. As an aside, has the price of a can of Pork and Beans really sky-rocketed in the last year or so along with gas prices? I sure haven't noticed.

As for "realistic", that's just a reflection of what someone charges. If Walmart can charge 5.00 for a box of soap and the exact same soap costs 7.50 at Overwaitea, that would suggest that Walmart has economies of scale that Overwaitea simply cannot match. In short, they are running a more effective business model. If you feel bad for Jimmy P and his ability to make his mortgage payments, then by all means support him. The cars in the parking lots would suggest, however, that there are loads of people who would rather not spend 50% more for the exact same item. I can see supporting small local vendors (and I do for stuff like meat, maked goods, etc.), but when it comes to non-specialized products, I'll support the billionaire who charges me the least amount :) That $2.50 savings will easily account for any increase in the cost of goods from higher gas prices.

Loki wrote,
"What we need to do is change our life styles away from driving at every opportunity. Thus reducing demand, and with that the price."

This is not a supply and demand issue.

If everyone were driving small crappy cars with high fuel economy as in europe, we would be paying european prices on gas to make up for the profit shortfall for big oil.

Look at Pacific Northern Gas in the northwest. When Methanex closed their plant, their largest Natural Gas Customer was lost, which increased supply. They petitioned BCUC and used a "revenue requirement" as a justification for jacking rates.

It was so ludicrous I saved the application.

Okay, as for the genius of transporting everything by American owned railway, how do these goods get to the rail lines in the first place? Got a wise idea for that? Did you forget that once the goods reach the limited ports they still have to be dispersed/transported? Or should we pay/subsidize to build/grow a system of Yankee rail lines to further improve the riches of capitalist Americans? Yeah, the hell with all the guys that make a living on the highways and their families too. Who needs their wages in our local economy any way? "We've grown much too dependent on their convenience". Let's get rid of them and we'd never have to hydro plane again.

Your purchase of fuel is a personal choice, walk, run, carpool, go green, if you don't want to pay for it by all means don't.My original post was that the trucking industry doesn't have the luxury of making any other choice than to pay the gouge at the pumps. And gouge it is. I am not an advocate for the industry, I was just stating a fact. Higher fuel prices mean higher prices down the line for everyone.

"how do these goods get to the rail lines in the first place"

Some companies load right onto railway boxcars - such as Canfor does with pulp. Others load into containers. Those could then go right onto railcars and from there onto ships for ocean travel, or to a major city where they could be downloaded to a truck.

Pigiback was the common name back in the 1960s when every major railway terminal in the country was bulding piggyback terminals for the truck/railway interface. In those days entire trailers were shipped distances and then were put back on the pavement for local distribution.

Today the terminolgy is "intermodal".

See this book? http://www.sonic.net/~jayreed/PiggybackConts.jpg

See this picture?
http://www.thebluecomet.com/riChicagoTTterminal.jpg

This is not rocket science. However, protectionism is not how to advance in this world.

Look grampa, these tankers are on railway flatbeds. Doesn't that look funny grampa?

No Davie, that is the way we used to do it when I was a young boy just like you. In fact, I designed some of the terminals.
http://www.freightlink.com.au/aspx/liquids.aspx

"how do these goods get to the rail lines in the first place"

Some companies load right onto railway boxcars - such as Canfor does with pulp. Others load into containers.


And what does Canfor use to make said pulp?
Logs, and how do the logs get to Canfor?
Trucks, man. No matter how you dice it, you still need the trucks to transport the goods to the railway. That's the way Grandpa has done it since they invented the railways and until we run out of oil
or we learn to teleport the goods I'm pretty sure we'll continue to use trucks. If there was a more cost effective way believe me industry would be doing it.

That's fine. Then hold the price of fuel at a static level for logging trucks, transport trucks and other commercial users, and increase the taxes included in the price of fuel for the rest of the population to make up the difference in the total revenues foregone by giving the commercial guys a break.

Shift the price burden to the folks that don't really need to buy gas guzzling vehicles and keep the costs predictable for those that do need to purchase large amounts of fuel to deliver the goods we need. Once alternate transportaion systems are implemented or more fuel efficient commercial applications are available, we can start phasing out the price breaks.

Oh and let's also ensure that vehicles that are excellent on fuel are PST and GST exempt and vehicles that are poor on gas pay double the PST and GST. We'd also need to improve our mass transit systems to give people better options for not driving all of the time. At the end of the day though, nothing would get people on the bandwagon of using less gas than three bucks a litre. Heck, a buck fifty had people getting rid of their big trucks and SUV's like they were garbage. Strange that so many people would do that when they "needed" them . . .

Junco .... please try to understand that there is a considerable difference between hauling 200, 300, 400 km and hauling 2,000 km.

I am not proposing that local logging trucks be replaced by rail. That would be ludicrous in most cases, unless, for instance, one were to begin hauling from the north western part of the province (hwy 37 north of Dease Lake) for instance. Due to the downfall in pine because of the MPB, that may have to be reconsidered to keep some of the mills going if demand picks up.

Fair enough. gus.

"Then hold the price of fuel at a static level for logging trucks, transport trucks and other commercial users"

I totally disagree with that. That subsidizes one method of transportation over another. In particular, it subsidizes a transportation system that I believe is already subsidized enough. Those not driving heavy trucks are subsidizing the excessive structural maintenance required of the road system due to the use of the roadbed by such vehicles.

Here is a picture of a CN "intermodal" container on a truck
http://www.cn.ca/en/photo-calgary-alberta-ef-2974-35.htm

This is one of a container being removed from a truck to a railcar.
http://www.cn.ca/en/photo-montreal-quebec-ef-3071-103.htm

Shell had their gold fuels on sale for less then their posted price for the bronze a few weeks back. About 10-cents a liter off. I don't know how many people noticed it or why it was like that... maybe they weren't selling any gold at the ridiculous price, so they needed to flush the tanks before it went bad... maybe marketing... maybe that was closer to the real price they should be charging anyways? I liked it because the gas seemed alright to me and saved me $10 on the fill up.

Eagleone, it was probably because they were out of "regular"

And may I add, when the price of fuel jumps 6 cents a litre over night, my meter does not! That increase in my fuel costs, is a direct hit on my bottom line because I am controlled by Government regulations. The price of NATURAL GAS is controlled by Government regulations, and so is the price of Hydro!

Trucking outfits can increase their rates (as far as I am aware) when there is an increase in fuel costs, but we can't.

Why is it that the oil companies can move their prices up and down at will, with NO REGULATION by Government? Why, because the Government are a bunch of crooked thieves too, and they are in bed with the "oil slick" companies! This is corruption in it's finest form!

I want to be able to jack my meter up, every time they jack the price of fuel up!Do you think that will ever happen? The economy is in the toilet, business's are closing their doors, company's are sending staff home early because business is slow, shifts are being cut, and it goes on and on. And these thieving "Bastards" want to rape us once more!

Will we ever have a level playing field??? Not until we all stand up together, and tell these thieves that we have had enough, and if it continues, we will have a GENERAL STRIKE. Maybe then they will listen.

If not, we should shut the whole place down. It won't take but a few days for them to pay attention. We did it in the 80's, when the Social Credit Party was in power under Bill Bennett.

And as far as the "BIG RIGS" on the road? If they reduced the cost of fuel, maybe we could go back to trucks being true "18 wheelers", instead of 30 wheelers. Look at the size of the loads being hauled, no wonder our roads are in such disrepair. They were not designed for this kind of abuse!It is all for the sake of the wealthy making more money!

This isn't rocket science, we just have to stop this greed of the wealthy!! They have way more than they need, and I for one, am tired of paying for their "FREE RIDE"

We don't all have the advantage of riding a bike to work or drive a car or carpool we don't all work in town you know.

Taxinapothole's rant aside, I for one don't want to have the Government in every part of our lives, including regulating the price of gas. They've already got their hands in enough, don't you think?What's next? Have Government regulate the price of everything we buy? No thanks.

Province wide shut-down? You can't even get half the people to bother to cast a ballot, good luck with civil disobiedience.

and that MrPG, is why nothing ever changes in this "FREE" country. Because of people like you that say, we can't make a difference! Stand up man, stand up everybody, and be COUNTED.

Am I the only one that has had enough of the bureaucratic "BS"?

I agree Mr PG, if you had read my "RANT"!! Let me set my meter price as fuel prices go up or down, or when cleaning costs go up when some drunken sod pukes in my cab! Let me set my own rates without Government control, like the oil companies do. Level playing field MrPG, is that not what I said.

Learn to read everything a person has to say, not what you just want to hear MrPG. More and more I am thinking you are an over priced government worker, maybe a politician in waiting, or you already are one of the dirt bags!

Sorry I touched a nerve. There's more to life than playing the victim all the time. You should look into it.

I'd be happy just getting what I paid for - the "volume corrected to 15C" scam is the biggest consumer ripoff in history.

You folks think you are being scammed now, just wait until the cap and trade carbon scam takes off. Energy costs will skyrocket and you will be looking back at today as the good old days.

Tell that to MrPG!!