Metro Vancouver gas prices on the rise again, expected to keep climbing

Gas prices in Metro Vancouver have climbed 13 per cent since Tuesday, when gas cost $1.95 per litre. Price hit as high as $2.20 per litre in many parts of Metro Vancouver on Saturday

Gas prices in Metro Vancouver are expected to keep climbing at least into Sunday, perhaps going as high as $2.34 per litre, according to price monitoring website Gas Wizard.

Gas prices in Metro have climbed 13 per cent since Tuesday, when gas cost $1.95 per litre. Price hit as high as $2.20 per litre in many parts of Metro Vancouver on Saturday, the most expensive hike since July, according to Kalibrate, a consulting firm that tracks fuel prices.

Petroleum analyst Dan McTeague with Canadians for Affordable Energy told Global News this week that issues in Washington State and elsewhere in the U.S. were contributing to the increase.

“Extraordinarily tight supply on the U.S. west coast made worse by about a week ago the Phillips 66 Ferndale Washington refinery went down for maintenance,” said McTeague.

“This is something a lot of refineries across the U.S. have held off doing, particularly given the strong demand this summer.”

As fuel prices increase, drivers start to change their habits, said several experts who spoke with Postmedia.

BCAA’s Evo car share program sees “an increase in usage when gas prices are high,” said Sarah Holland, a communications manager with Evo, via email.

“Our sign-ups are up, the number of trips people take are up, and the length of trips has increased,” Holland said.

She said some Evo users have even sold their vehicles and are using Evos at least partially because of high gas prices.

At car sales website Canada Drives, interest in articles about electric and hybrid vehicles surged alongside gas prices, said Chris Reynolds, vice president of marketing.

“People are seeing that there’s some great options that fit their lifestyle for plug-in hybrids and even electric vehicles,” Reynolds said. “They’re making the move.”

For those who aren’t ready or able to make the switch, Reynolds offered a number of simple tips and techniques to cut down on fuel costs, starting with how often you fill up your tank.

“If you have half a tank and you see the price is low, go fill up. Don’t wait,” he said. “Fill up irregardless of how full your tank is.

“If we’re filling up our car when it’s empty, we don’t have a choice of the price.”

Gas prices typically start to increase on Thursdays, as the weekend approaches, according to Canada Drives.

How you drive is just as important — if not more so — than when you fill up your tank, Reynold said, noting that rapid acceleration and hard braking use a lot of gas.

“Don’t drive aggressively,” he said, “drive smoothly.”

“One way to gauge how smooth your driving is by paying attention to your RPMs,” Reynold said. “Keeping it around 3000 RPMs, you’re still going at a fair pace and your car is going through the gears effectively.”

Those people that are aggressively off the line at a green light?

“They’re wasting gas,” he said.

[protected-iframe info=”https://vs-postmedia.github.io/fuel-cost-calculator/” height=”640″

Reynold also suggested downloading an app like Gas Buddy, which provides localised prices for gas stations in a user-determined area. Prices are updated by people using the app, which has a large user-base, so the prices are usually the most up-to-date.

“You can literally get a notification on your Gas Buddy app” about price changes, Reynold said.

Other apps, including Waze, the navigation platform, and the BCAA mobile app also include localised gas prices. Since they have fewer users, prices might not be as current, Reynold said.

Reynolds also suggested drivers sign up for rewards programs that offer savings on fuel purchases.

“It is another card for the wallet but it could save you dozens of dollars a year,” he said.

He suggested signing up for two or more programs “that are near your area, for convenience.”

That way drivers will avoid finding themselves in a situation where they are driving extra kilometres just to save a few cents on gas, he said.

Other tips Reynold suggested include keeping car tires properly inflated and making sure to regularly change the oil and air filters, all of which will ensure the vehicle makes the most effective use of the fuel in your tank.

ngriffiths@postmedia.com

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