After looking at the gas price websites recently, it is evident that gas stations in Salmon Arm are overcharging motorists.
While the price for crude oil has dropped down to about $86 per barrel and there are no major shutdowns of refineries in our region, since March we have seen gas prices continue to rise. Unlike most other cities further west or south, there is currently no price competition in Salmon Arm, with all stations selling regular unleaded gasoline at $1.33.9 per litre.
As of Oct. 29, prices have dropped in the last several days in cities between Vancouver Island and Kamloops. Prices per litre for unleaded regular in Salmon Arm average 14 to 19 cents more than Victoria, 16-24 cents more than Courtenay, five-15 cents more than Vancouver (with its additional 17 cents per transit taxes), 7-22 cents than Kamloops, and about six cents high than Enderby to Vernon.
Fuel sources here are usually closer to the refineries or tank farms than most other communities to the west of here. Supporting higher priced stations only encourages consistently higher prices at the pump, increases the costs of goods in stores and really affects your wallet. With these high pump prices, many motorists will just continue driving through town and fueling up elsewhere, which will not benefit local businesses. While it is important to shop locally, in this case, to send a message to the oil companies, until prices drop dramatically, motorists would be better to fuel up their vehicles elsewhere.
Ian Clay