How are you dealing with high petrol prices?
After months of watching it go up, the price of petrol has finally fallen.
But how long will it last? By all accounts the price of petrol will go back up and keep rising, as demand outweighs supply and oil reserves grow smaller.
Months of very high prices have given motorists more than a taste of what’s to come and a lot of people are acting, some by choice and some by necessity. We want to know what you’re doing.
The number of commuters using public transport has reportedly risen to its highest level since 1999. Have you found public transport to be a cheaper option?
Are you trying to be more frugal with your petrol or have you altered your driving technique so you use less?
Have you been getting your car serviced regularly, checking your tyre pressure weekly, going easy on the air-conditioner and carrying as little weight as possible?
Maybe you’ve signed up for a new credit card that offers discounts at certain petrol stations.
Perhaps the cost of petrol has prompted you to sell the V8 for a more economical four cylinder car.
Have you decided a vehicle that runs on alternative fuel is the answer and bought a hybrid, converted to LPG or bought a new turbo diesel?
Or are you going about your business as normal and waiting to see what happens?
What are you doing to cope with high petrol prices?
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August 5th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Surely no sane person would go and buy a brand new car just to save on fuel costs.
What I do is drive less and walk/use pubic transport more.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:06 am
use http://www.fuelwatcher.com.au/ to locate petrol prices.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Deal with high petrol prices by not having a car. I know it may sound sacrilegious to Australians, but it is possible to go through life without a car. Don’t forget, some of the most advanced European cities have the least car use per population. Car use appears to be inversely proportional to the education standards of the population.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I love high petrol prices. They remind us that Oil is a scarce resource and that the amount that people are willing to pay should reflect this. If Adam Smith were alive he would no doubt say that high global oil prices are the invisible hand of the market working at its very best.
I wonder what we are all going to do when there is a carbon tax applied to the burning of fossil fuels… will our politicians want low fuel prices or will they want to save the planet?
August 12th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
If anyone is interested in the actual current (US time) price of crude (in US $) go to http://www.oil-price.net. It shows that oil has fallen considerably in the past few weeks. From the highs of May-June 2008 of US$145 p/b to under US$113 p/b today. I would have expected a reasonable reduction in the bowser price, but there seems to be some reluctance in doing so. WHY?
Hey Jimmy, which oil company do you work for? Do you really believe there wont be a tax if we pay higher prices now? I believe in paying a fair price for what I buy. In reality the crude oil prices have been manipulated by the suppliers and world leaders know it.
I understand the points about not using your car to save costs, but when you live in rural areas and travel 20, 30, or 40 kms or more to work. The cost of fuel in the country areas today is up to 23 cents p/ltr higher than in the cities. (prices as mentioned on NRMA site) Kirrawee – Kempsey.
Good luck to everyone – I hope you win lotto.
12 August, 2008
August 13th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Can I ask why is the NRMA is supporting the fuelwatch scheme?
According to the ACCC’s latest resport into petrol prices more than 60% of consumers in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide buy petrol below the average price because they fill up on days when petrol prices are low.
The experience of Western Australia shows that the fuelwatch scheme will dampen the price cycle and therefore price sensitive customers will pay more… how can the NRMA justify such a position?
August 14th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I’ve almost completely stopped driving. My car sits out on the street rusting away. I ride a bike for most of my transport needs, and occasionally catch the bus or train. It’s not hard for me to live this lifestyle as I have always taken non-motoring transport options into consideration when choosing a place to live.
It’s time the NRMA took the “R” in it’s name more seriously than the “M”. The roads are for all forms of transport, not just for cars and trucks.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I do not work for an oil company! But the suggestion that there is a conspiracy really makes me wonder.
Changes in petrol prices not only reflect changes in oil prices there are also exchange rates, shipping costs, storage and handling costs and of course supply and demand factors to consider. Some of these things move in opposite directions. What ultimately determines petrol prices is supply and demand and of course the level of competition. Despite the Governmnet promising they could do something they can’t and they won’t. In fact they won’t even reduce petrol taxes which is the only thing they can do.
Colin I agree that the NRMA should focus more on roads. In fact they should be telling the Government to spend more of mortorist’s taxes on roads. Instead we are getting more and more toll roads.
I find it hard to feel sympathy for the fact that people in the country spend more money on fuel because they drive longer distances. People in the city have to pay for toll roads and sit in congestion for hours. But perhaps more important people in the city pay way more for houses and land than people do in the country. When are people going to realise that you cant have your cake and eat it too.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
My drive to work is 20kms, in the opposite direction to the main traffic flow.
10 km of this is freeway. Trip time is 25 mins.
Public transport for me would mean.
Walk-bus-train-bus-walk. If everything was on time, trip time would still be over one hour. And I suspect it would cost me more.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I drive 20 kms each day to get to work and back.
I have done the sums and compared the cost to public transport. Driving is a little less expensive and this includes bridge tolls of $3 a day.
I can choose to walk to the train station in heat and rain, wait for a train, the train is filthy, too hot or too cold, packed with people, sometimes running late, slow and I stand all the way. Then I need to walk to a bus which whilst cleaner and mostly air conditioned is just as slow.
Or, I can also choose to leave from home and work when I wish, jump in the car, turn on the radio, listen to music, sit comfortably, not have to change and wait at stations and bus stops and I have air conditioning!
And at the end of that the drive shaves 20 mins of the travel time.
It does not take Einstein to figure out why I choose to drive each day no matter what the cost of fuel is.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:38 am
Thankyou for your reply Jimmy. There may well be a conspiracy concerning the price of oil. All I know is the price is being held high and the governments get a nice share of that. If you look at the price today you will see that the price per barrel has decreased about 22% and the price of our consumer petrol has decreased about 10%.
Now, taking into account exchange rates, the price of pumpkins at Woolworths and the price of bait, I would say there is a problem and no-one is doing a damn thing about it. It is people like you Jimmy, and you Colin and the rest of us who make their voice heard.
It comes down to this; we aussies love our cars and love to drive. We are being hit hard where it hurts and everything we do is either taxed or over regulated, especially in the cities. That’s why I live in the country. Oh, and by the way Jimmy, check on the price of country houses and you will find the city real estate prices have come here too.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
-Have cut back heaps on car use. For example, I don’t go for surf checks anymore, just surf my local beach.
-Bought an electric bike (on special at K Mart $350) to get to work.
-Hope oil prices get heaps higher so car companies are forced to build alternative clean fuel vehicles and governments provide funding for this.
September 4th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hey Ed. this is interesting how does this electric bike go? is it fun to ride, I am looking into buying hybrid car to emit less pollution. None of the bloggers seem to mention much about emisiions, mostly comments about the price of petrol. surely one of themost important aspects of this is the reduction of polution for us and the future generations. So I would like more infomation and comments on electric anything that can get me from A to B.
September 6th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
A little extra to my previous post.
As mentioned 10 kms of my work drive is freeway.
I travel in the opposite direction to the main flow.
I can travel at full freeway speeds, 100/110 kph.
I have noticed in the last few months that most drivers are now
driving at 10 kph below the posted limit rather than 10 above.
Seems we’re doing our bit
October 17th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Is simple. Get yourself a decent motorcycle or scooter designed for commuting; enrol in a skills course with an accredited provider to ensure your safely, invest in some wet weather gear and panniers/top boxes, and you will save yourself hundreds every year. Save the car for shopping trips.
Why Governments are not doing more to encourage motorcycling is pathetic. There are twice as many people now commuting on powered two-wheelers than there are on bicycles…and that number is growing all the time. Even if you don’t ride, surely you can see the sense in promoting two wheels over four!
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Well, golleeeee, Jimmy, no sympathy for country ppl, because to do our weekly shopping is a 100 MILES return trip, dentist 100 MILES trip, doctor 100 MILES trip, Hospital 100 MILES trip, I bet my bottom dollar all these commodities are with-in 10 klms of your abode. My sons next door friends house- 15 MILES away, you city dwellers have no inkling of country life and I really mean outback, fresh flowing clean water which you don’t have to boil before drinking, Jimmy do everyone a favour, go out beyond the black-stump and then write about the hardships you take for granted.
As for petrol, give us a break, for all you know-alls, Australia runs on diesel, every grocery, alcohol, tyre, pencil, CD, DVD, radios, computer, every thing bought from a retailor was delivered by a truck or diesel-locomotive, all run on diesel which was 10 cents less than petrol now 20 – 35 cents more than unleaded.
Remember when a few months ago because of rocketing diesel prices that the truckies were going broke because of diesel prices going sky-high, so Woolies and Coles raised their prices because of the flow-ons, NOW that prices have come down where are the truckies screaming about lowering the prices, diesel has come down 40 cents
SO, who is profiteering now?? truckies? Woolies? Coles? Government?
Somebody is pocketing 40 cents per litre of diesel every day, I notice our grocery prices going up as fuel costs are coming down, where is the ACCC? What a toothless tiger this dept. is
Two months ago NRMA was extolling the virtures of petrol pricing, what about diesel, most european manfacturers are going diesel diesel diesel, burns better than petrol, longer service intervals, less CO2 emissions, greenhouse friendly.
As for Jimmy paying for Toll roads, as I understand it, no-one is forced to pay any tolls because there is always a free route nearby, it may take longer, be more congested, more traffic lights BUT FREE.
For all you youngins out there when talking about transport costs in regards to delivering petrol/fuels, How do you think Newcastle is supplied with fuels? Do you see a 1000 petrol tankers running up the expressway each day? No, well whaddya know, all fuel for Newcastle is pumped up from Kurnell to Broadmeadow BP. The only time the underground pipe is exposed is when it crosses the Hawksbury River.
So why is Newcastles’ petrol prices 10-15 cents more than Sydneys’ when there is no transport costs involved?
December 4th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
can the country prices be 12.00 cents dearer the what the fuel watch say cause is was 103.9 this morring an now its 115.9 is it aloud to jump that far in so little time
December 7th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
When is the NRMA going to stick up for Diesel drivers and businesses. For the past 5 years suffering between 30 – 40c per litre higher than unleaded. Diesel is cheaper to refine, better for the environment and not classed as a fuel under the proposed fuel watch system.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I agree with Bill, we are being ripped off. The ACCC are useless and have done nothing either. The fact is diesel prices effect the whole Australian economy and nobody want to talk about it. Its time the NRMA said to Australian goverment DROP THE DIESEL EXCISE AND STOP THE RIP OFF.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Has anyone else noticed the price for Premium ULP has not come down by the same amount as regular ULP (in % terms)? When prices were previously around $1.00 /L some years ago, the “premium” for 98 octane PULP was around 9c/ L… however it is now 13c/ L which remains similar to where it was when prices were $1.60 / L. When I recently asked a service station attendant, he implied oil companies have upped the relative (%) price of PULP vs ULP in response to demand. Can NRMA’s price watch incorporate a section on PULP prices too?
January 5th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I picked up the Time magazine in my local doctors the other day, it had a article on oil prices. The basic outline was that as less reserves of oil are found, the OPEC countries will release less oil driving up prices to reduce consumption. Highr prices & less consumption would in tern cause manufacturers to find & develop alternative fuels. The article laid out the plan for the next 5 years & advised that Australian Motorists could expect to be paying up to $1.70 per litre before too long.
Knowing how out of date magazines are in a doctors surgery I turned back to the cover, The surprising thing was the magazine was published in 1985.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:13 am
[...] just as the price of petrol was beginning to drop from highs of over $1.70 per litre, we asked how you were dealing with high petrol prices. But now, despite predictions the drop was temporary and it would only continue to rise, the price [...]