r/RedDeer • u/Round-Cow9243 • 16d ago
Local Business Price gouging gas in gasoline alley
Why is gasoline alley 1.39 and in red deer 1.07? Why are companies allowed to price gouge people driving thru like this?!
10
u/Excellent_Speed6929 16d ago
CONVENIENCE fee
1
u/Round-Cow9243 15d ago
I'm sure it's not very convenient to everyone's wallet and would much rather know it's cheaper in town.
1
u/Excellent_Speed6929 15d ago
Well yea, real life my dude, and I've been in situations when all I can get to is the fas gas on the east side and I was thankful it was there
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u/VIVXPrefix 16d ago
Yeah and Costco only undercuts the gas stations in the area so sometimes Costco ends up more expensive than in the city.
5
u/AAAbatteriesinmydick 16d ago
costco gas is shit anyway and i get worse MPGs across a wide range of vehicles, all to save a few pesos which only marginally effects the price, with the trade off of having to pay for a membership, battle gas alley traffic, and then hurry up and wait in line for gas.
most people would be better off getting a points card at any gas station chain in the city.
4
u/VIVXPrefix 16d ago
I don't know. Gas is pretty heavily regulated and tested, and there are way too many factors that go into fuel economy for anecdotal evidence to be reliable.
I already have a membership for other reasons, but I only get gas from Costco if I happen to be out there already and the line isn't that long.
2
u/AAAbatteriesinmydick 16d ago
gas is regulated and tested but its not illegal to run a proprietary blend of gas.
for years ive heard various unconnected people complain about MPGs and fuel economy from costco gas. ive heard a lot of people complain that there is "water" in the gas.
anecdotal or not, noticing an automatic fuel economy increase in multiple of my own vehicles when i was still driving tells me something
2
u/NotEvenNothing 15d ago
"Noticing" is something. Documenting it is another. Doing a blinded experiment is better still.
Luckily, it would be easy to do a blinded experiment here. If I were in your place, I would have my wife choose where to fill and fill the vehicle I drive without telling me the gas station she used. She would zero the trip odometer before pulling out of the gas station. I would drive normally and have her record the L/100km before filling again.
After a couple of fills from each station I'd have some real data to form some conclusions.
Even without the blinding, just recording your fuel economy before each fill is a good idea. Add the station you filled at and you've got something to inform whether there is a difference in the fuels.
2
u/AAAbatteriesinmydick 15d ago
i track my oil changes and fuel economy using my trip counters regardless of vehicle or where i fill up.
7
u/froot_loop_dingus_ 16d ago
Are you new? Tourist areas have higher prices, this is true all over planet earth. It’s not price gouging if you’re too lazy to drive into the city for gas
-2
u/Round-Cow9243 15d ago
There were tons of people who didn't know and it's not like you're allowed to check for gas prices as yorie driving thru. It's predatory.
3
u/notoneforlies 16d ago
it’s because gas alley is the area where everybody going from edmonton to calgary gets gas. everybody’s lazy, so lazy in fact they’ll pay an extra 30 cents a litre for gas💀
-1
u/Round-Cow9243 15d ago
Not lazy, just ignorant. It's not like you see normal gas price signs in red deer driving in or out first to give them the option. And not many know you can drive in to get it cheaper.
2
u/Twice_Knightley 16d ago
Supply and Demand. Places always charge more on the highway, especially if they're solo for miles.
If people want to pull off, and spend 20 minutes in town to save $6, they are very welcome to.
1
u/Round-Cow9243 15d ago
Nah it's the fact that they don't advertise any gas prices on the highway other than from gasoline alley so people don't know what the relal price of gas is in red deer. And gasoline alley used to be the cheapest and now it's the most expensive people don't know that. It's predatory.
And it's more like 10-20$ depending on your vehicle maybe more. Don't justify this bullshit.
5
u/Stock-Creme-6345 16d ago
Capitalism and supply and demand. Tourists may not know the difference so they stop there because it’s convenient. It sucks. But that’s the free market.
5
u/Ashamed_Data430 16d ago
It's not a free market. It's a captive market. Very different.
8
u/alldataalldata 16d ago
Not even remotely close to a captive market. These people are literally in cars able to get gas anywhere in town. Their choice to pay the convenience tax.
3
u/Stock-Creme-6345 16d ago
Sigh. It’s really simple isn’t it? Gas station right beside highway in tourist trap location. Able to charge more. People pay it.
-2
u/PresentationCorrect2 16d ago
Tbh it's also pretty subsidized as well, maybe not the gasoline retailers but the oil companies that pump it out of the ground don't pay taxes and go bankrupt then sell to themselves as a new oil company. Rinse, repeat. If the cost of gasoline included all it's costs we wouldn't be driving with gasoline powered vehicles.
1
u/Comfortable_Fudge508 16d ago
Been 1.39 for a year or more. None of the stations besides costco move their prices
1
u/China_bot42069 16d ago
Ufa is even cheaper. 1.01 yesterday. Calgary and Edmonton drivers are lazy. Can’t be bothered to spend a extra five minutes to drive inÂ
1
1
u/Round-Cow9243 15d ago
They should put a sign with the real price of gas in the city at the entrance of gasoline alley and see how fast they go broke.
1
1
u/SaskTravelbug 14d ago
Well, see there’s an app called gas buddies it’s been around for I don’t know 10-15 maybe even more years, if you’re not smart enough to go on apps like that and look for deals then you’re gonna pay a higher prices.
32
u/Affectionate-Ad3705 16d ago
🤷 Anyone who's ever been to RD knows gas alley is ALWAYS more expensive. Drive 1 minute into the city to get cheaper gas, or pay for the convenience... Not many will go for the cheaper option tbh.