Burnaby gas prices have soared to another ridiculous level, setting another record high for the region.
That might not be such a bad thing (ducks).
On Saturday (May 7) morning, several outlets were selling gas for 222.9 cents per litre, passing the previous record of 216.9.
Kamesh Goundar shared an image of sky-high prices on Twitter, quipping that the "$110 check is going to solve everything." The frustrated resident refers to the one-time rebates of $110 for personal drivers and $165 for commercial drivers that the B.C. government will distribute to drivers. The provincial government is raiding the surplus at ICBC to provide rebates to drivers to offset skyrocketing gas prices.
I agree that the province’s $110 bribe is not going to make a measurable difference. But here’s why it doesn’t matter – we all need to stop driving so much due to the climate crisis and this will help reach that goal.
I know that I have drastically cut back on my driving due to these high prices. I used to go for relaxing Sunday morning drives just to get out the house, but I know realize that this is part of the problem.
I now pretty much only drive for work and essential needs. I now walk to the grocery store and back.
Look, I’m not saying that everyone is able-bodied enough to do this. I understand that this is tough on some people. But for everyone else, this could force them to really re-think how much they drive their pollution-spewing vehicles.
Sadly, I’ve also cut back on my transit use due to safety concerns over TransLink lifting the mask mandate.
That’s my personal choice. Others won’t care about the masks and will hopefully get on transit and leave their vehicles at home. The climate crisis will continue to get worse the more we drive so, in a way, these gas prices will help that situation, as well as reduce the number of crashes we see.
- With files from Elana Shepert, Vancouver is Awesome
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
