Pain at the pump: Will Montreal motorists change their habits?

Some are feeling the pinch, while others are taking the rise in gas prices in stride.

Author of the article:

Jason Magder • Montreal Gazette

Most people who spoke to the Montreal Gazette said they would not be ditching their cars in favor of public transit. Photo by John Kenney /Montreal Gazette

Ziad Mekel says the rising price of gas has made a dent in his livelihood as the owner of a moving company in the Montreal area.

“I can’t pass on the increase to my customers,” Mekel said while filling up a white cube van at the Esso station at Atwater Ave. and St-Jacques St. “They don’t accept my prices when I try to increase them to help defray the cost of gas.

“We are definitely losing customers, and if we don’t lose customers, we’re paying more to do the jobs.”

At the same station, Giovanni Natale, who works in the construction business, said he’s lucky he doesn’t travel very far in his day-to-day life; otherwise, he would be looking at changing his daily habits.

“When I got this vehicle in 2019, it cost me $43 to fill up; I filled it up last week, and it cost $98. That really hits home,” Natale said, standing next to his gray Toyota Rav4.

He said he got rid of his truck in 2019 in favor of the smaller SUV because he said it was costing him too much in gas back then, roughly $150 per fill-up.

Susan Edwards said she is taking the hike in prices in stride.

“What can you do? If it means no war, I’m willing to pay more,” she said, alluding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Edwards was filling her white Volvo SUV with roughly half a tank on Friday for $50.

“When I’m in town, I don’t use my car,” she said. “I don’t drive that much anyway, so it doesn’t affect me too much. The price of food is more concerning, I would say. Everything has gone up.”

Across the street, Michelle Mazaheri of Ottawa was emerging from the Lionel-Groulx metro station. She said she hopes higher gas prices will mean a boon for public transit.

“I guess the silver lining in all this is that it might be good for the environment if everyone stops driving and starts taking buses and shuttles,” she said.

Public transit authorities normally note an increase in ridership when there is a sharp spike at the pump, said Simon Charbonneau, a spokesperson for the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain.

However, with more people working from home because of the pandemic, it’s unclear what effect higher gas prices will have on ridership, he said.

Most people who spoke to the Montreal Gazette said they would not be ditching their cars in favor of public transit.

Meanwhile, the spike won’t immediately affect the Soiciété de transport de Montréal, as the STM negotiates how much it pays for gas years in advance, said spokesperson Philippe Déry.

The STM pays 60 cents per liter of diesel, the price it negotiated in March 2020 and will remain in effect until the end of next year, he said.

The transit agency is now in negotiations for its fuel needs for 2024. Déry said it’s too soon to say what price will be.

“Since 1998, the STM has negotiated with large financial institutions for swap contracts, which protects us from fluctuations in the price of gas,” he said. “The STM can thus benefit from a fixed rate for a given period of time.”

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