This is probably just another rant, one of thousands around about gas prices, and how outrageous they are, if that is what you guessed, then you are right, but there is a twist.  Last weekend, we went on a quick road trip to Ottawa ( from Montreal ) to visit some family.  That isn’t the purpose of this story, but what I wanted to flag down was the price difference of gas between there and here.

The price when we filled up in Ottawa on Friday evening was 1.229$/liter in Ottawa, and 1.329$/Liter in Montreal.  This is comparing suburb to suburb, and both the same company ( Esso in this particular case ).  Why are gas prices so much more expensive in Montreal?

From MarketWatch

Canadians pay about 33% in combined taxes on average on the price of fuel, and Americans pay about 11%

It would be one thing, if the taxes actually went towards something useful, but not even that.  Or how about having 2 gas prices, one for consumers, and a lower one for transport companies( essentially the cost of the crude, refining and transportation ), so that public transportation would not get more expensive as the cost of gas at the pump.  As it stands, the consumer, either car driver/owner AND the ones using public transportation is getting screwed.  In the last 6 years, my train pass has gone up from 121$ a month to 147$ a month ( with another expected price hike in January.  Has the service improved, yes, but not by that large of a margin.

Here is my request, how about making the public transportation service, more attractive by reducing the price of it.  To reduce the price you charge your users, how about reducing the expenses of the service, which one way, would include reducing the taxes buses/trains have to pay.