Love driving, Hate expensive petrol (UK Petrol Prices)

Member Name: ecolier

Product:	UK Petrol Prices
Date:	09/10/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Expensive petrol!

The British are indeed being robbed. Our country is amongst the most expensive (I think Hong Kong is more expensive at the moment - but they just copied us!) for petrol but it doesn't have to be this way! Most of the price of petrol is simply tax to fund road users who decide not to pay their road tax or for foreign truckers to enjoy our nice roads and motorways.

--- the BASICS ---

British petrol prices are one of the most expensive in the world. At the time of writing the standard supermarket petrol is 101.9p / litre and the diesel is 102.9p / litre. Most mainstream petroleum companies (e.g. Shell, Total, Jet, Texaco) will follow that price provided they are close to the supermarket. If not as a rule of thumb - the further they are from a supermarket the more expensive it will be. Another general rule is that petrol is more expensive at motorway and major A-roads service stations. Just another way to rob us Brits.

--- why I am ANGRY ---

Considering the rise of the crude oil prices last year, one would be hard to fault the petroleum companies - but that's last year. When crude oil prices stood at an all time high of US$147, the price at the pumps (or at least the supermarkets) were 119.9p / litre. Today, as the crude oil market closes at around US$70 (more than half of $147) the price at the pumps is 101.9p / litre just days after a 1p / litre drop in price. So what sense does it make? If crude oil was to jump up to US$120 tomorrow will the price increase by 20p / litre - probably. There are lots of criticism directed to these companies - they are acting as a sort of a monopoly as they all raise or drop prices at the same time and consumers have no choice.

In addition the rise in crude oil prices seems to be much much much quicker in being reflected in the petrol prices than a drop. A recent drop of crude oil prices from US$75 to US$63 (a drop of more than 10%) resulted in a 1p / litre drop 3 weeks after the crude oil prices came down. However when the crude slowly trickled up I have spotted some sneaky petrol stations increasing the prices within a few days.

One more thing is the government. As if the price of petrol is not expensive enough they keep increasing the fuel tax year after year. It is not only a burden for the haulage industries but for the average motorists too. The public transport outside of London is simply not up to scratch and is definitely not fit for commuting for 10% of the country's workforce. I would recommend with every rise in fuel tax a similar amount should be invested in public transport or at least an alternative to driving.

--- what we can DO ---

Boycotting is no longer an option. We would all want to do it but in a world of time and money it is simply not viable. The thing left for us to do is probably drive more economically - don't accelerate harshly, inflate the tyres to a suitable pressure and make sure you don't carry any unnecessary loads. Also make sure you are filling in petrol in the cheapest pump in your area - lots of websites help with this. Remember supermarkets may not always be the cheapest - look around. But also remember that driving around for petrol costs money in petrol too!

--- CONCLUSION ---

The petrol prices is unlikely to return to their 2003/4 levels of 69.9p / litre. With crude oil seeming to be fixed around the US$60 - $80 mark it looks like the 90p - 110p / litre is more realistic. I believe the 70% or more tax is simply unreasonable and I would also like to see the money being spent on public transport and making sure is up to scratch. I am looking forward to a day when people can ditch their cars and gladly take their local on-time, not crowded and cheap trains!!

Summary: I see the point of fuel tax but it's simply too much.