There was frustration and some acceptance at the pumps Thursday.
The price of gas was expected to go up nearly nine cents per litre at midnight, boosting the price to about 78 cents per litre from 69 cents per litre. Some gas stations around the city were busy with motorists filling up before the price jump.
“Accepting is the best way to put it. We prefer to keep it low, but if it’s going up, we hope it will go down the next day,” said Joseph Briand of Halifax.
When gas spiked to $1.40 per litre, Briand said he drove slower to save on gas.
“I drive mainly for business, so it didn’t affect how I do business. I just drove slower.”
Jim Guild of Halifax said it seems the more expensive gas is, the more people economize.
“I wouldn’t mind if it was going up if I felt the oil companies weren’t ripping us off,” Guild said. “I’m glad we have gas regulation. I think the companies would be even worse if they weren’t regulated.”
His mistrust extends to the gas pumps, too. He said many of them need some work in their accuracy.
“There’s no certification of when this was checked so I don’t know when they checked them,” he said, gesturing to the gas pump. “I think if the government wanted to regulate one thing, I think they should make sure all the pumps are working.”
Trish McLaren of Hubley said price fluctuations don’t change her driving habits, but it’s frustrating not knowing why it’s so much more expensive one day to the next.
“I can’t cut back on the amount of driving I’m doing anyway. I like it when the prices are low — but even when the prices go up, it doesn’t impact how much driving I do,” she said.
“It’s just frustrating because it jumps up that big, but do we know why? The reasons they tell us I don’t believe are the actual reasons, like the hurricane or whatever.”
