Originally Posted by Acura604 (Post 8892792)

*meh, i live 15mins from Blaine...this article doesnt' relate to me.


https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2...in-bellingham/

Here’s the math on why you should (or shouldn’t) drive to Bellingham for gas

Yesterday we shared the NEWS that gas prices broke the $1.50/litre mark in Vancouver, giving us the distinction of having the most expensive gas in all of North America.

Nobody likes to pay more for anything, especially in the housing crunch we’re in right now where the City is TELLING US that they consider $1,750 to be “affordable” rent for a one bedroom apartment.

It’s an age-old tradition for people in the Lower Mainland to travel to Blaine and Bellingham, just across the border, to fill up on “cheap” gas. As long as that’s been going there have been people saying that you’ll burn more gas getting there and back than you’ll end up saving.

That’s not true.

According to GasBuddy.com, the lowest gas price in Bellingham today is $2.71USD/gallon. Let’s call the average $2.80USD to be fair.

That amounts to $3.63 in Canadian currency per gallon, or 96 cents per litre. That’s 54 Canadian cents per litre less than what gas costs in Vancouver.

If you’ve got a 50 litre tank like I have, you’d save $27 Canadian dollars filling it up at a Bellingham pump.

However if your vehicle gets 10l/100km gas mileage it’ll cost you $14.78 Canadian to drive the 154km from downtown Vancouver to the Arco at 1197 Slater Rd in Bellingham, and back. In the end you’ll wind up saving a grand total of $12.22.

As I type this, Google Maps is telling me it would take 1 hour and 9 minutes to drive to that Bellingham Arco. That’s not counting the minimum half hour wait at the border. So let’s say you drove there, fuelled up, then immediately turned around and drove back. Let’s call it three hours.

How much is your time worth? More than $4.07 per hour? If not, head to Bellingham for “cheap” gas.

Or better yet, make a day trip down there. Head to the mall, drive the coastline and check out the antique shops, stop at Trader Joe’s, and as a byproduct of a fun road trip you can stop for gas and get a price break. A straight shot there and back might not be worth it, but an adventure could be.

Originally Posted by ZN6 (Post 8897698)

Meanwhile, people are paying $5-6 for a bubble tea with pearls or a frappe from starbucks.

Chill out. Don't buy a frappe or a bubble tea for a day or two. It'll help your wallet and your waistline and the increase in gas cost woes.

Surprised people aren't outraged by coca-cola costing $2.50 for 500ml bottle instead of 591ml; pay the same get 15% less. or the fact that coke was 5 cents a bottle back in the day.

Originally Posted by twitchyzero (Post 8897780)

fuel is deemed an essential expense by the majority
bubble tea/pop on the daily is a lot rarer and you have bigger problems than a thin wallet if you're consuming that much

Originally Posted by ZN6 (Post 8897698)

Meanwhile, people are paying $5-6 for a bubble tea with pearls or a frappe from starbucks.

Chill out. Don't buy a frappe or a bubble tea for a day or two. It'll help your wallet and your waistline and the increase in gas cost woes.

Surprised people aren't outraged by coca-cola costing $2.50 for 500ml bottle instead of 591ml; pay the same get 15% less. or the fact that coke was 5 cents a bottle back in the day.

Originally Posted by ZN6 (Post 8897854)

The point was that people can part ways with their money on such frivolous non-essential items. There are ways for people to budget around gas increases with small changes in life style.

Can't control gas prices, but you can control your own spending.

Originally Posted by dachinesedude (Post 8897857)

Sorry but that's a horrible comparison, apples to oranges

you are forgetting that there are no substitute for gasoline, vs a million other options for drinks

Originally Posted by twitchyzero (Post 8897899)

but you're still supporting the retarded carbon taxes, that's the problem that I have with pumping locally

the people feeling the most crunch from soon to be $1.60+/L are not those who eat out several times a week, but families that may have to consider transit soon even if they live out of the way and the service is far from ideal in the burbs

Originally Posted by ScizzMoney (Post 8897691)

I must be in the minority, but I'd rather save time than a few dollars. I get it if your time isn't worth anything though and you like the drive, then the trip makes sense.

(I unfortunately can't even make that choice since I don't live in the lower mainland anymore, just saying)

Originally Posted by Jmac (Post 8898007)

Carbon tax is:
1) Not retarded
2) 7.78 cents/litre
3) Only responsible for a small percentage of fuel price increases over the past decade

When Gordon Campbell's Liberals introduced the carbon tax in the mid-2000s, it was a revenue neutral tax meaning it didn't increase the tax revenue to the government. The tax revenue generated from the carbon tax went to low-income personal tax credits and a lower corporate tax rate.

Now, the NDP government has scrapped those in favour of funding "green" projects instead. Whether you prefer the former or the latter (or neither), either way, it's not going to general revenue like most of the other taxes.

Carbon tax, when introduced in 2008, was 4.44 cents/litre and has gone up a whopping 3.34 cents/litre over the past decade. Meanwhile, gas prices have risen from 104 cents/litre in 2009 to 154 cents/litre.

Your breakdown of taxes on gasoline in Metro Vancouver are:

TransLink - 17 cents/litre
Federal Excise Tax - 10 cents/litre (4 cents/litre on diesel)
Carbon Tax - 7.78 cents/litre (8.95 cents/litre on diesel)
BC Transportation Financing Authority - 6.75 cents/litre
Provincial Motor Fuel Tax - 1.75 cents/litre (2.25 cents/litre on diesel)

Sub-total: 43.28 cents/litre (gasoline)/38.95 cents/litre (diesel)

Plus 5% GST (which is also applied to the taxes above; isn't the federal government great?)

According to Kent Group Limited, the average retail price of gasoline, excluding taxes, in Vancouver so far for April 2018 is 103 cents/litre

So base price of 103 + 43.28 + 5% GST (7.31 cents/litre) = 153.6 cents/litre

Originally Posted by NKC ONE (Post 8897741)

Very true as I've done roughly the same calculations a while back for my thirsty Jeep SRT (16.7L/100km). I would also like to point out other realistic expenses such as the depreciation of the mileage it takes to get there and back as well as the maintenance/consumables of just making that trip. Well before I've been able to take account for the time spent and the cost/hour of my life, I'm already deeply in the red. Mind you, I was saving about $40-50cad/tank and it still wasn't anywhere near worth it. After doing all the math, I felt a lot more comfortable just pulling up to any chevron near me and filling up 91 or 94 at about $140+/tank whenever I needed gas.

Timing is a bitch too. There is never a direct correlation of needing gas (maximizing the fill up) and having the perfect timing of heading down for gas. Of course, if you live close enough then its a no brainer or if you're there for some other reasons such as picking up stuff.

Originally Posted by twitchyzero (Post 8898176)

when I said carbon taxes I guess my semantics was way off

anyways the fact that we have 42% premium BEFORE GST is already fucking nuts...if you're gonna charge us Nordic/Scandinavian rates, should the college students get paid to go to school like over there?

why are green initiatives/low-income credits only assessed for GVR residents?

Originally Posted by Gh0stRider (Post 8900425)