Petrol 184.9 this afternoon

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Petrol has gone up from 179.9 this morning where I am to 184.9 this afternoon! AIBU to think this is getting really worrying?

I do think that plenty of people use the car without thinking, just because it’s easier. In a similar vein to switching on the heating before adding another layer or two; if mindless consumerism is reduced now it’s hitting peoples pockets That’s a really good thing.

obviously that doesn’t apply to everyone but it definitely applies to some.

Village / rural life will probably become something only the wealthy can afford. Houses in walking / cycling distance to schools / shops / work will become more desirable

Exactly - millions of people live rurally and have no choice but to use their cars to get around. It's not like living in a small town or village is this massively rare phenomenon, lol.

We have no bus service here. There is the train, but it only goes up and down the coast, so if you need to go inland, you have to drive - there is no other option. Our nearest "cheap" supermarket petrol station is a 40 minute drive away - otherwise you're stuck with two small, independent local places that charge through the nose.

We're not some tiny backwater either, this is a town of over 7k - we have a secondary school, multiple primaries, a GP etc - and we have loads of small villages surrounding us too - and everyone who lives there is in the same situation as us.

I used to work a 40 minute drive away - around 23 miles or so. To do the same journey by train would take over four hours and cost me over a days' wages each way. To arrive on time, I'd need to leave home the night before and then leave work about four hours before closing time to get home the same day.

what about families with wheelchair users who are unable to use public transport due to the hopeless provision made for them ?

People buying massive 4X4s to take little Jimmy to school less than a mile away can get fucked. As can those putting the thermostat to 25ºC and sitting around in t-shirts and shorts during winter.

I hope petrol goes up more so people can stop driving like maniacs near me and buying the world's dumbest vehicles. I saw a '22 plate Wildtrak on the way back from work today and threw up a little in my mouth.

I use the Petrol Prices app to get the cheapest fuel that I can. It relies on users updating the prices but it seems fairly up to date for my part of South Wales.

I work for a specialist service in the NHS covering 2 counties. In April we were given a temporary increase in mileage of an extra 5p a mile but that is due to end at the end of June. Prices have risen significantly since April so I sincerely hope they carry on with the increase and hopefully review and increase it further. I do begrudge subsiding every home visit and trip to other hospital sites that I have to make.

Our trust has claimed they cannot increase our mileage rate as it's set by the government, even though the trust next door have increased theirs by 10ppm (I understand the difference is taxed though?) there is also a £100 grant available but only for registered nurses which is a kick in the teeth for all the band 3/4 staff.

I do understand that some people drive needlessly, I know people like this, but it's unfair for people to turn around and say this is a good thing as people need to drive less when many, many people really don't have a choice.

I use the Petrol Prices app to get the cheapest fuel that I can. It relies on users updating the prices but it seems fairly up to date for my part of South Wales.

It's a great app but it only really works if you have lots of stations near you - many rural people have no choice but to use the only station within 20-30 miles of their house.

I live in a village - there is no way it would be possible to manage without a car - I think the nearest bus route passes by 6 miles away but I do save on electricity, ensuring I can afford petrol, by using my woodburner to heat the house in winter. Not sure how environmentally friendly that is but because public transport has no decent infrastructure, that’s the choice I have. I’m not moving to a crappy new build in a crappy crime ridden area to “save the planet”. I’ll grow my veg, run my car and burn my wood quite happily. The idea that there is an alternative to running a car for some people is laughable.

OPEC is basically all but confirming they have no spare capacity left now, so should be a fun summer now China's opening up several big cities post-COVID lockdowns.

The only reason the US isn't drawing more oil this week is because of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve release (again) to try and control prices. They're still massively drawing down petrol and middle-distillates (diesel) at a rapid pace. Probably going to be rationing in large parts of the US soon at this rate.

Don't be too shocked if the EU and the UK also see actual shortages if the price increases don't get more demand destruction.

On the bright side, we're not Sri Lanka, so there's that.

We live in a city but the location of the job is where it is. If he switched jobs the pay would be lower than where he is and I’d have to change jobs too. If I switched jobs we would have to get wrap around childcare.

so sure we could change jobs but we wouldn’t be any better off and there is no super market within walking distance, it would be two busses minimum.

California gas prices have always been 20%-30% than the rest of the country because they require a special version of the fuel that has lower emissions than the federal standard. It has to be made specifically for the CA market and is too expensive to sell anywhere else. They've also had some refinery closures.

Smaller differences between states are due to transport costs and varying levels of taxation. The wholesale costs are much more uniform.

It's been in the £1.80's around here for weeks.

@AnonIsUsuallyAWoman you are wrong and quite ignorant as well as being rude and dismissive of people's genuine fears about poverty and isolation. Carbon footprint and overall environmental impact is massively higher for the super rich than for an average person. In fact one "billionaire space flight" could produce a bigger carbon footprint than a person in a developing country in their whole lives. Private jets and mega yatchs are the biggest polluters and producers of emissions when broken down by individual use.
So actually the people who own petrol companies and are raking in mega profits are the ones wrecking the planet. Rising fuel costs go straight to their pockets to allow them to continue this. The planet is certainly not smiling every time the price goes up.
The super rich will treat climate change like they did covid - insulate themselves to maintain their position and lifestyles while trying to guilt the rest of us into radically restricting our lives. We should be resisting that not buying into it.

This absolutely.

I remember when there were protests when fuel reached £1 a litre, people were outraged and we were stuck in Cornwall and limped home on fumes! Back then our first house cost £78k and I earned not much less than I do today (although I work locally now, rather than the city). It’s not sustainable and I predict a summer of riots, and have done since last Autumn

@MissConductUS Aye, I've heard CA is basically the worst place in the US to drive anything with an ICE. Explains why the well to do in the valleys mass adopted EVs and everyone else moves out of the state or becomes destitute.

They'll have fun trying to power those EVs when the Hoover Dam basically stops generating power in the near future, what with the dearth of water replenishing the lakes like Meade.

Did I say everyone can definately use alternative transport?

No, I didn't. But there is no doubt that a large number of people could. I was one of them once, and then I got fed up of sitting in a car for anything up to an hour to drive 5 miles across town to work. So I got a bike and now it takes half that.

What is the fuel app that people are using? I just had a look and couldn't find one.

Increase in essentials means people have to cut back on discretionary expenditure, ergo, fewer holidays (like you can even leave this island now anyway), fewer big purchases and going out occasions. That will feed back into the high street and other areas being deprived of income.

Can we say stagflation? The BoE and Fed can't, but that's what they're writing on the wall in all but name.

Petrolprices

@AnonIsUsuallyAWoman have you got me confused with another poster? I was stating that in my village you can’t rely on public transport as there isn’t any currently due to the Arriva bus strike. So for those people they can’t get to work without driving and have seen the cost to fill a car rise at an unaffordable rate. Not all of the village is affluent either there are plenty of social housing in this village and the villages surrounding. Wouldn’t you say those people that usually use buses are actually helping the planet?

I do have a car and am fortunate enough to be able to fill it up although ironically WFH so don’t need to as often.

They are now predicting £3/l by the end of the year

But lots of people have no choice - if they want to get to work/get their kids to school they will still need to fill their cars.

They'll just end up getting into more debt, sadly.