Time to do some logistical breakdown to spotlight how incredibly big the mandatory tire change, complete with deadline, is to Quebec's economy.
In recent days m any motorists have been going every day to the garage in an attempt to get their tires done, only to wait for a few futile hours before giving up as the joints are jammed and the lines are long.
It's becoming a bigger deal than Christmas shopping.
One would have to wonder whether the provincial authorities put a lot of thought into the overall implications of passing this law, as the logistics are staggering.
Consider that there are roughly six million cars in Quebec let's say each tire change costs about $80 on average.
That's $480 million going from the pockets of motorists into the grimy wallets of Quebec's grease monkeys.
Now timewise: if each of those six million cars needs 45 minutes to process, that brings your total to four million hours, in other words 228 years of man-hours putting tires and rims on every year alone!
And all of that doesn't even take into account the cost of tires.
Let's say you pay $600 for your winter tires and they last for four years. That means that you pay about $150 a year for your tires.
Multiply that by six million cars- that's $900 million that we're spending on winter tires in Quebec.
In recent days m any motorists have been going every day to the garage in an attempt to get their tires done, only to wait for a few futile hours before giving up as the joints are jammed and the lines are long.
It's becoming a bigger deal than Christmas shopping.
Consider that there are roughly six million cars in Quebec let's say each tire change costs about $80 on average.
That's $480 million going from the pockets of motorists into the grimy wallets of Quebec's grease monkeys.
Now timewise: if each of those six million cars needs 45 minutes to process, that brings your total to four million hours, in other words 228 years of man-hours putting tires and rims on every year alone!
And all of that doesn't even take into account the cost of tires.
Let's say you pay $600 for your winter tires and they last for four years. That means that you pay about $150 a year for your tires.
Multiply that by six million cars- that's $900 million that we're spending on winter tires in Quebec.
Maybe it's about the TAXES all the way down the line?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, if all cars had better tires, maybe, just hypothetically, they wouldn't need to plough so carefully? AND if they skimped on the salt, or whatever they use, it might help 'save' the bridges, overpasses and road surfaces??
Name for a Battle Plan?, 'Spare the Salt, and save the bridges!! and Taxes!!!! For YOU'
'Member, much of the REAL Christmas Giving goes for taxes, almost an Eleventh Commandment.
Another reason for the term Black Friday. For the buyer, it should be Red??
Jingle Bells, here. etc.
Must say, tho' snow tires ARE great when one drives a lot, especially off the main roads.
I used to have to 'chain up' to get around, some years, almost a lost art like a 3 on the column shift.
In the winter in the Forties, you often left the car inside 'til spring, and travelled by Taxi, streetcar or train.
Poor old horses on milk and bread wagons.
The Ecole MTC Autobusses wore chains on bad days, these vehicles having a yellow Ecole sign on the rear.
Gosh! I'm starting to sound like Mr. Legend?
Must be the Christmas Spirit.
Bah, Humbug.
Thank You.
As an adjunct to "Ebenezer's" post, there are available alternatives to corrosive road salt, but evidently they have yet to catch on in a big way. See:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/alternatives-rock-salt
In fact, I do remember on CBC's Dragon's Den a few years ago where a deal was struck to mass- market just such a product.
So what happened?
The following Link, from one of the BEST resources to come along in years! ( Thank You! ) shows Circle Road in it's entirety!
ReplyDeletehttp://archivesdemontreal.com/greffe/vues-aeriennes-archives/jpeg/VM97-3_7P12-19.jpg
Captures many of the subjects talked about on Coolopolis and embellished by resident experts.
Thank You, Messers. G. and L and Chimples and many others.
Iona School can be seen, along with Saranac, where we once resided, the last lot on the south of the Steam Shovel still undeveloped, as well as the one which blocked off access to Iona, later 4910 Circle.
Old Snowdon Junction before the Tramways moved to Terminus Garland is prominent.
Our house on Saranac, c. 1923, was a fourplex, with my Father owning Up and Down on one half, my Aunt and Uncle as renters above until they moved to Prince of Wales to a new house across from then-new Benny Farm on Monkland, Cavendish under construction thru to Somerled and North, little traffic enraging circle btwn Monkland and Sherbrooke til '62.
There were four coal/coke furnaces in the basements on Saranac and the men looked after each others' when one or the other family was away.
Side door in alley on side of houses to basements.
I now recall all four bathrooms up and down and next. were connected by a light shaft, they visible on the roof, doors on hinges w/frosted glass in corner of each bathroom over the tub. Odd sounds and grunts could be heard in hallways, etc. if doors left open for ventilation.
Beautiful varnished wood work panels and wainscotting and glass doors into dining room w/electric wall sconces and flame-shaped bulbs. Long hall to run down at full speed, then slide on the wood or kitchen floor on socks.
Gas stove with strike-anywhere match holder beside, the match box having sand glued on sides to strike matches on.
Hot water taps would gush steam in very cold weather if furnace being 'forced', as water heating pipe for washing and baths passed thru the firebox.
There was a little room with a drain off the kitchens for the Ice Box. We had an electric Frigidaire by then and my Father put a Bendix washing machine in ice box room, using the drain.
Was back into one of the homes in the Bell, and it had been all changed and painted. Looked awful, full of renters who did not give a shit.
At the very top left of photo the Tramways' tracks on QM can be seen just starting to turn South onto their right of way down to CSL and Girouard.
( The East side of the Decarie service road above the trench would be along the alley behind the business fronting Decarie in the 1947 view. )
The bank on the SE corner of QM and Decarie not yet enlarged.
QM and Decarie looking West. 'Small' bank on corner to left, Decarie to CSL beyond.
My Father and I came down to watch this construction as the Tramways moved to Ternimus Garland.
http://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/histoire/ht4_1950_3-950-005_travaux_sur_decarie.jpg
Much 'Empty' too!
Would like to go back, for a while, but might not want to stay??
Like to try, tho'?
Thank You, All.
Regarding salt substitute.
ReplyDeleteProbably like the 50-mile-per-gallon carburetor supposedly developed in the fifties that all the oil companies bought up to keep consumption, and profits ( and taxes ) high.
Cheap salt now, large maintenance expense later? after several elections?
If the bridges and roads did not wear out as fast there'd be no road work and spin off patronage jobs and taxation and Govt. spending of OUR money all for US!
See it will still be the Champlain Bridge, when done.
Well, not all of our tax money is for us, some? must go for wages, benefits, pensions, expenses perks, etc at the Snivel Service level??
Democracy and our version of Capitalism works very well as long as the tree and the Golden Goose have lots of apples and eggs.
A recent McLeans magazine had an article on jobs and the future of pensions, etc. for the so-called Middle Class.
What is the 'Middle Class', today??
Reading a book on 'Automation', 'The Glass Cage' by Nicholas Carr which is illuminating, to say the least.
Scary.
Glad I can remember 1947! and street cars at the Snowdon Theatre and the word Pension still carried weight.
Thank You.
Have to shake my head at these "anti-austerity" demonstrations. Are these the same people who voted in the Liberals? If so, why are they now suddenly bitching? These rats are spoiled rotten. Anyway, you can see it in their faces that they really don't believe they will get their way in the end. Nor should they.
ReplyDeletePay your way or shut up!
And what's their solution? Tax the rich and wealthy corporations? Wouldn't work. The rich would quickly move out of the province as would the corporations.
How soon they also forget that despite the previous Charest government promising early in their mandate to eventually raise student tuition fees, no complaints were heard by them until the 11th hour when it finally sank in, thus giving fodder to the hypocritical PQ Marois government who were quite correctly booted out thanks to PKP's separatist outbursts.
The above was my free-of-charge political rant summing up the year.
The Poor talk, the Rich walk, or something like that.
ReplyDeleteThank You
On the snow tire b.s. in Qc I still say the insurance groups operating there cut a deal with the saaq with a blank "how much do you want" cheque. Less claims, more money to insurance companies, less to the auto repair shop industry. Less injury claims to the saaq as well.
ReplyDelete