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Almost half of British Columbians (47 per cent) say they are dealing with rising gas prices by reducing the number of times they use their car, according to an InsightsWest poll.
The vast majority (89 per cent) believe the increase in gas prices is a serious problem in B.C. with 67 per cent saying that rising prices are having a negative impact on them personally.
One in five poll respondents say rising gas prices have caused them to change their vacation plans.
Almost one in five (18 per cent) say they have considered buying a hybrid or electric car instead of sticking with a vehicle that runs on gas.
A solid majority (57 per cent) believe the high in gas prices will be above the current average of $1.59 per litre this summer compared to 26 per cent, which think prices will remain in the $1.56 to $1.65 range.
“British Columbians are really feeling the impact of rising gas prices and they don’t seem to believe things are going to change any time soon, which has resulted in changing behaviour around driving,” says Insights West President, Steve Mossop.
Most poll respondents blame rising gas prices on government taxes (60 per cent), oil companies seeking higher profits (57 per cent) or on the lack of a big enough oil refinery in B.C., making residents dependent on more costly foreign oil (53 per cent).
More than two-in-five B.C. residents (43 per cent) believe that uncertainty over whether or not the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion gets built is having “a lot of impact” on rising gas prices in the province.
“Given all the controversy around the Kinder Morgan pipeline—it seems that the perceived linkage between the opposition to pipelines and the increase in gas prices could be the primary reason for the increase in public support of the pipeline in our last poll,” Mossop says.
InsightsWest's last online survey in April revealed that 55 per cent of residents say they support the proposed expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, an 11 point increase from the last poll in September, 2017.
