No Rhyme or Reason to Kamloops Gas Prices

(Aired on March 8, 2010)

I must admit to you that in all my years of being in news, I've never been able to figure out why gas prices have fluctuated. I've heard all the arguments, supply and demand, cost in the field making its way to the pumps, refinery costs, local taxes, you name it - I've heard it. But none of the arguments hold true, and I think it's time for the feds to have another inquiry into gas prices. They've looked before, and they're obviously as dumb as I am, because they haven't been able to figure it out either.

Last month, I had to make a business trip to Quesnel. My traveling partner and I were intrigued that the prices in the Cariboo were at least a couple of cents cheaper than in Kamloops. That just didn't make any sense to us at all. This past weekend, I was in 100 Mile. We went up to Little Fort and across Highway 24. In Lone Butte, which can claim no reason at all for having cheaper gas prices than Kamloops, prices were $1.03 cents a liter, a full 2 cents cheaper than Kamloops. And again, all the way home down Highway 97, prices were cheaper than Kamloops.

This just doesn't make any sense folks. We never seem to have a big fluctuation in Kamloops. Occasionally, as we did a few weeks back, we'll drop down for a short period of time, but that's normally the precursor to a sharp jump.

I can understand the price of gas in Vancouver averaging $1.13 this morning because they have transit taxes specific to the coast. I can understand Whitehorse being $1.12. They have to take that gas a long way. We're not out of line compared to a lot of communities across the country, but to have our gas price more expensive than the Cariboo just doesn't make sense. Someone, somewhere has to have an answer. And it can't be just any answer. It's got to be one that we can actually believe.