I did not expect such a vitriolic response to my rather innocuous letter about gas prices (Drivers over a barrel), but Erin Diabola’s suggested options do not make a lot of sense. I have no wish to live in Venezuela, I cannot afford an electric car, at 81 years of age my bicycling days are over, and I do often take the bus.
According to Natural Resources of Canada, the cost of crude oil makes up 54 per cent of the price at the pump, or 74 cents when the pump price is $1.30 a litre. So when the price of the raw material drops to less than half, it is fair to assume that the pump price will fall by half of the cost of that raw material. In the summer of 2014, crude oil was $112 per barrel, it is now less than $50 a barrel. We should be seeing pump prices somewhere in the 80-cent range.
The high price of gas has little to do with the heavy snow and cold weather on the east coast as Ms. Diabola suggests. Sure they will use more heating oil, but they will certainly be driving less. The fact is we are being gouged by the oil companies.
Martin Riley
Oak Bay