Forum Discussion

explorenorth's avatar
explorenorth
Explorer
Dec 15, 2014

Fuel price gouging on the Alaska Highway

With fuel prices plummeting in many places, this is an FYI that it isn't falling everywhere. I just drove from Whitehorse to Vancouver and got gouged in a few places, some expected, one very surprising. It was 1.179/liter for regular when I left Whitehorse on Thursday. We had boxes on top of the RAV4, and had to stop for fuel far more often than I'm used to.
- Teslin was 1.269
- Watson Lake was 1.179 - I just put a few dollars in there as Contact Creek is always cheaper and I like to spend my money there to keep them open in any case.
- Contact Creek was 1.299!! VERY disappointing, and all the signs saying "Lower than Watson Lake" are still up. After 20 years of spending a lot of money there, he just lost my loyalty.
- Liard Hot Springs is always expensive, and was, at 1.699
- Muncho Lake (Northern Rockies Lodge) was 1.979 - I just stopped to check, didn't need any.
- Fort Nelson was 1.329
- Wonowon was 1.389
- Chetwynd was 1.299

At Prince George, we finally got to prices that were acceptable given the current situation ($1.029), and they stayed close to that all the way to Vancouver.
  • RangerJay's avatar
    RangerJay
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    A lot of those places are the only show in town - it's a small town - the next town is a long way away - and the traffic volume is low. Not so sure that is gouging - just someone working hard to make a year-round living.


    Jay
  • DougE's avatar
    DougE
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    The trick in remote areas is to fill up often. Then any one spot charging excessively doesn't nail you too hard.
  • mayo30's avatar
    mayo30
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    You don't suppose you were still buying gas they purchased at the higher price????
  • lanerd's avatar
    lanerd
    Explorer II
    Dec 15, 2014
    I know. You'd think that with all the oil being pumped out of Alberta, that oil by-products would be a lot cheaper. Last time we made the trip to Alaska, we spent over $5000 just for fuel, and most of it was in Canada.

    Ron
  • explorenorth's avatar
    explorenorth
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    mayo30 wrote:
    You don't suppose you were still buying gas they purchased at the higher price????


    In many jurisdictions, Contact Creek Lodge would get sued for the current situation - heavily advertising being the lowest price when in fact they're 12 cents higher. In every case, it's certainly pricing at whatever the traffic will bear, with little regard to actual costs. For decades Watson Lake has been substantially higher than Whitehorse despite paying less for their fuel - for the past year or so they've been very close to Whitehorse.
  • mayo30's avatar
    mayo30
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    lanerd wrote:
    I know. You'd think that with all the oil being pumped out of Alberta, that oil by-products would be a lot cheaper. Last time we made the trip to Alaska, we spent over $5000 just for fuel, and most of it was in Canada.

    Ron

    Can you say refinery capacity.Cost of production and recovery doesn't change no matter what artificial world prices are.
  • kalynzoo's avatar
    kalynzoo
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    You have to pay them to live there. They need to drive for supplies, entertainment, family. The cost is not the same as in the city. JMHO
  • mayo30's avatar
    mayo30
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    explorenorth wrote:
    mayo30 wrote:
    You don't suppose you were still buying gas they purchased at the higher price????


    In many jurisdictions, Contact Creek Lodge would get sued for the current situation - heavily advertising being the lowest price when in fact they're 12 cents higher. In every case, it's certainly pricing at whatever the traffic will bear, with little regard to actual costs. For decades Watson Lake has been substantially higher than Whitehorse despite paying less for their fuel - for the past year or so they've been very close to Whitehorse.

    Well then we better start sueing Ford,Gm etc. because they all say they are cheaper then the next guy lol.Prices are what they are,business is what it is,don't stop at the expensive places.
  • explorenorth's avatar
    explorenorth
    Explorer
    Dec 15, 2014
    mayo30 wrote:
    Prices are what they are,business is what it is,don't stop at the expensive places.


    And that's why I'm letting you know where some of the high-priced places are - so you can avoid them. Well, maybe not you, as you seem to be okay with it. Except when I'm on my motorcycle (or in my niece's heavily-loaded vehicle), I have enough range that I don't have to stop at them.

About Bucket List Trips

13,487 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 18, 2025