The gas-price wallet pinch Whitehorse motorists are feeling at the pump could be good news for the city's transit system, Whitehorse Transit manager Dave Muir said recently.

Muir said while he is pleased ridership levels are back to 2002 levels following the 2004 transit service cutbacks, he thinks Whitehorse commuters may opt for public transit in a bid to make their transportation budgets stretch further.

'We think it (rising gas prices) will have a positive effect on ridership,' he said.

Gas prices have been on the rise, jumping nearly seven cents in Whitehorse in August, from about 110.7 cents per litre two weeks ago to nearly 117 cents this week.

Twenty-five years ago, in comparison, gas sold for an average of 43 cents a litre in Whitehorse.

Other Canadian cities have also been seeing gas price hikes with Yellowknife hitting 124.9 cents a litre, Toronto now over a dollar, Montreal nearly on par with Whitehorse, Alberta's remote Peace River nearing a dollar and Vancouver approaching the 110-cents-per-litre mark.

Muir said he feels the new schedule instituted in July, which now sees fewer bus runs during the day and increased service during the peak periods of 7-to-9 a.m. and 3-to-6 p.m., will accommodate Whitehorse commuters more than the old schedule. He encourages people who haven't tried the system to give it a test-run.

'We would like to encourage people to try it one week out of a month. See what you save in maintenance and fuel costs.

'We think it will have a positive impact,' he said.

Muir said since transit schedule changes were instituted in July, he hasn't heard much in the way of feedback. However, he feels the system, which receives $2 million a year from the municipal and territorial governments and has a 30-per-cent cost recovery ratio, has improved to meet the needs of commuters.

He also said the city may soon see Sunday service, with the city's Transit Task Force likely to make the recommendation to council in the near future.

Responding to concerns from commuters across the nation, federal NDP Leader Jack Layton called for a government investigation into skyrocketing Canadian gas prices last week.

Layton accused multinational oil companies of collusion, saying they're price-fixing at the expense of Canadian consumers.

'We effectively have a monopoly in the sector, a very small number of very large companies that are setting the prices,' Layton said.

According to Statistics Canada, higher gas prices are pushing the country's annual inflation rate higher up 1.6 in May and 1.7 in June from the previous year.

The statistics agency said prices have risen by an average rate of 4.2 per cent between June 2004 and June 2005.

Despite the gas prices, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Monday the federal government is not considering reducing Ottawa's take at the pumps. He said citizens of the nation's municipalities are already going to benefit with the gas-tax transfer agreement.

'Canadians have embraced fully the fact that we now share that gas tax with municipalities. It is becoming an important ongoing means by which our cities large and small are able to finance their ongoing needs, and that is where the focus of that tax goes.'