I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but our city council in Calgary has determined that all residents should consider either taking transit or riding bicycles into and around the city. Given our reputation as CowTown, I’m surprised we’re not being advised to go back to horses and buggies.
It’s a noble determination to be sure, but not always practical.
Take real estate agents for example. Back when I lived in Winnipeg, there were novel contraptions like pedicabs that offered to take people around areas like the vibrant Osborne Village for a fee. I’m not sure your average sales rep would like to hook up an adult stroller just to drag their clients around to show homes. Although, it would be a great way to offset weight gain and achieve your daily Fitbit targets!
There is a realistic side to the desire to encourage people to explore other options, aside from reducing the roadways of gas-guzzling automobiles. I remember a time when I used to be able to drive my car, and not only that, I was thrilled to pay just under 30 bucks to fill my gas tank each and every week.
Those days are pretty much gone now, and as carbon “levies” and political manoeuvres on gas pricing are rapidly escalating, I am close to going out and pricing pedicabs to bring in a few extra bucks for my impending golden years.
The prospect of taking one of those Virgin Air millionaire flights to the moon instead of commuting to and from work is looking downright economical by comparison.
I do have sympathy for anyone employed at a gas station these days. Given the escalating price structures without any actual validation for doing so (oil is still nowhere near where it was before the collapse), the poor guys that have to go up and change the signboard prices are like hyper-alert deer in the heat of hunting season. They nervously climb up with plastic numbers that don’t seem to improve the disposition of motorists passing by.
One guy I spotted must have had a touch of owl running in his family tree, the way he was able to crane his head around to watch for projectiles and surly crowds wielding pitchforks.
I know, I know, ask any gas station owner and they say their hands are tied by the big oil companies and crushing taxes from every level of government.
Hey, my hands are tied by crushing taxes from every level of government too! Good luck passing those costs on to my employer!
I suppose Fred Flintstone had the right idea with his car. He was able to power the thing around filled with his whole family and a pet dinosaur no less, by his bare feet. Try doing that in your average Hummer this summer.
What with all the natural disasters affecting insurers, I recently had an unpleasant surprise when I went in to insure my vehicle for another year on the road. I didn’t realize that was actually where it was going to sit for the next 12 months – stationary, on the road.
This was also the first year I ever marvelled to the lady renewing my policy on how cheap motor vehicle insurance is nowadays, compared to gassing the beast up for the week.
I suppose we can gripe all we want about these rising gas prices, but until someone can actually refine common household (or personal) fuels to run through a carburetor, or we modify our driving habits, I will have a lovely planter for my daisies this year, parked conveniently in front of my broken-down old CCM 10-speed, on the driveway.
Humour columnist and author Dan St. Yves was licensed with Royal LePage Kelowna for 11 years. Check out his website at danstyves.com.
