A Vancouver resident regularly drives to Richmond to fill up his gas tank, which is a lot easier on his pocketbook than filling up near his home.
When Kehao Su made the half-hour trip on Tuesday evening to find the cheapest gas station in Richmond, he found himself waiting in a long lineup – that ended up taking another half an hour of his time.
“When I saw there's a long lineup, it actually reinforced my decision - the prices here are exceptionally cheap for (Greater) Vancouver,” said Su.
“Compared to various brands of gas stations in other areas, the prices at Petro-Canada on 8151 Granville Ave. and Buswell Street are always $3 to $10 cheaper per 100 litres.”
On Tuesday evening around 8 p.m., there were about 15 cars waiting to fill up their gas tanks.
According to GasBuddy data, the price was 189.9 cents, making it one of the cheapest Richmond gas stations at that time.
When it comes to springtime spikes in gasoline price, affordability is often the primary consideration for drivers choosing a gas station.
Piyush Sharma, a worker at Petro-Canada, was not surprised by the long lineups, which he said happens every evening.
“Prices drop most evenings at 4 p.m., by the next morning they will rise again,” said Sharma.
He advised the best time to refuel is from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. when gasoline offers the best value for money.
According to Petro-Canada, the main factors contributing to gasoline price fluctuations are gas taxes, the amount of crude oil, the prices retailers pay for wholesale gasoline and refining and marketing costs.
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