Community News

AGHAST AT GAS PRICES

PERSON WORKING FULL DAY AT $15-AN-HOUR MINIMUM WAGE COULDN'T EARN ENOUGH TO PAY GAS TANK FILL, WRITES MIKE FARWELL

MIKE FARWELL Column

Well, I finally did it. I waited as long as I possibly could, right up until the time my car told me I had a range of five kilometres before running out of gas. And then I swallowed hard and paid 229.9 cents per litre of diesel fuel. It cost me just under $124 to fill my tank. To put it another way, a person working for a $15 an hour minimum wage would not be able to fill that gas tank with the earnings from an eight-hour day.

No matter which way you look at it, it hurts. That's a lot of money and it's a price we'll have to pay again and again. If we want to keep driving, that is. Admittedly, owning and driving a vehicle is, in itself, a luxury. But even as we try to encourage other, more sustainable modes of transportation, are those options realistic for most of us?

The cost of a monthly bus pass with Grand River Transit is $90, which means we could ride a bus or a train for a full month for less money than it costs for one tank of gas.

It's a pretty attractive option until you consider the limitations of the transit system. The buses and trains run at fixed times and on fixed routes, meaning you may need to take one or more to get to your destination. You also have to hope that the bus or the train can get you to your destination on time.

This is not a criticism of Grand River Transit. It's merely an acknowledgement of the limitations of most transit systems in Canada. The systems simply do not offer service that is fast or frequent enough.

This fact makes it all the more puzzling

that the Ontario Liberals have pledged a "buck-a-ride" program for transit, promising to slash fares for all transit systems to $1 per ride and $40 for monthly passes.

Even if the gimmick were to succeed in increasing ridership on public transit, the outcome would simply be more people on the same number of trains and buses. If we want to pour more money into public transit, the dollars should be invested in creating faster, more frequent service.

Of course, all this talk about public transit as a possible option to relieve our pain at the pumps is spoken through the lens of a city dweller. Rural communities have limited or no access to public transit, and people who live in rural areas tend to have longer commutes to work. Back to the drawing board. The reality is that no matter how noble our efforts to transition away from gasoline-powered automobiles, we're a long way from the finish line. And that means

the currently outrageous price at the pumps is just one more way that life is getting less affordable for the average working class.

We've gone from "buck-a-beer" to "buck-a-ride" in successive provincial election campaigns. Maybe the next promise we'll hear is "buck-a-litre."

That's almost sure to get someone elected.

OPINION

en-ca

2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281535114597357

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