The cheapest gas in the region was still to be found locally, as of Thursday morning.
Super Save Gas, at 56th Avenue and the Langley Bypass, had cars lined up around the corner and backing up onto the Bypass Wednesday buy gas at $1.19 a litre on Wednesday. The price there bounced up to more than $1.40 per litre Thursday morning, then headed back to $1.19 again later in the day.
Several other gas stations within a kilometre lowered their prices as well, with some stations on the Bypass and Fraser Highway selling gas for about $1.24 or $1.23 per litre.
Meanwhile, the average price in the rest of Metro Vancouver remained between $1.44 and $1.49 a litre. Even in Abbotsford, where taxes on gas are lower, prices are hovering at around $1.35 to $1.37 per litre.
Super Save Gas did not immediately respond to questions about why they priced their gas lower at their outlet on 56th Avenue.
The last major gas price war in the Lower Mainland was in 2001, when gas was as low as 60 cents a litre for a time.
Another gas price war in 1998 was indirectly linked to Super Save Gas – Super Save sold more than 50 gas stations in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island to U.S. gas retailer Arco, which slashed prices for months. Gas was selling for as low as 35.9 cents into early 1999.
By mid-2001, Arco was already pulling out of local gas station ownership, selling stations and allowing leases to expire.
