Petrol duty and VAT rises to increase price of fuel

[Aurora]

BBC News - 01/01/11



Looming petrol duty and VAT rises are to push record petrol prices higher.

On New Year's Day, a government fuel duty increase put another 0.76p on to both petrol and diesel. And on 4 January, the rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% will mean another price rise.

The AA estimates that the two increases will add around 3.5p to the cost of a litre of both petrol and diesel.

The average price of unleaded petrol in the UK stands at 124.16p, according to Experian Catalist.

This time last year, petrol was at 107.74p a litre and diesel at 109.46p.

Diesel currently costs, on average, 128.35p a litre - some five pence below its record high of July 2008.

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Happy New Year!

[emordnilap]

Extremely cheap.

[Lord Beria3]

Extremely cheap.

+1

[RenewableCandy]

I wonder how much (if any) less commutin' (I mean by car) there'll be in the coming year as a direct result of this?

[adam2]

In many cases public transport is more expensive per mile than petrol is, so I doubt that this will result in less car commuting.
Fares are in many cases incresing significantly.

There are many costs apart from petrol of course, but many people consider a car essiential for when the public transport system is shut for bad weather or strikes.
Therefore having met the fixed costs of car ownership for strikes and bad weather, the marginal cost of petrol compares favourably with fares.

Local bus fares in London are now £2, that would buy about 1.5L of petrol, which would take one many miles in a small car.
The bus fare would of course be £8 for 4 persons but the petrol consumption would only increase very slightly if 4 persons rather than 1 used a car.

[the mad cyclist]

If the average driver were to modify his or her driving style, they could easily compensate for all the recent increases in vehicle fuel.

Oh I forgot, it is the motorists right, to drive their vehicle the way they deem necessary, and the government should lower fuel duty, so they can have their fun.

[contadino]

In many cases public transport is more expensive per mile than petrol is, so I doubt that this will result in less car commuting.
Fares are in many cases incresing significantly.

There are many costs apart from petrol of course, but many people consider a car essiential for when the public transport system is shut for bad weather or strikes.
Therefore having met the fixed costs of car ownership for strikes and bad weather, the marginal cost of petrol compares favourably with fares.

Local bus fares in London are now £2, that would buy about 1.5L of petrol, which would take one many miles in a small car.
The bus fare would of course be £8 for 4 persons but the petrol consumption would only increase very slightly if 4 persons rather than 1 used a car.

That's, in part, due to the way in which transport operators price their tickets. It is often calculated to be nominally less than the cost of owning, insuring, maintaining, and running private transport.

So whenever fuel prices rise, public transport prices rise accordingly - and vice versa.

If you're looking for a cause, look no further than privatisation.

[woodpecker]

In many cases public transport is more expensive per mile than petrol is, so I doubt that this will result in less car commuting.
Fares are in many cases incresing significantly.

There are many costs apart from petrol of course, but many people consider a car essiential for when the public transport system is shut for bad weather or strikes.
Therefore having met the fixed costs of car ownership for strikes and bad weather, the marginal cost of petrol compares favourably with fares.

Local bus fares in London are now £2, that would buy about 1.5L of petrol, which would take one many miles in a small car.
The bus fare would of course be £8 for 4 persons but the petrol consumption would only increase very slightly if 4 persons rather than 1 used a car.

Bus fares for any trip in London have been £1.30 for the last year, with a daily cap of £3.90 or so.

Nobody in London buys a car for "when the public transport system is shut for bad weather or strikes". Because people cannot get to work using a car (unless they happen to be the CEO or other main board director, with their name painted on a private parking space). Once you've paid your £8/£10/£12 daily congestion charge and you actually get there (at 6-7mph if you're very lucky), there is nowhere to park! (Well, there's private sites charging £30-40 per day, or street parking at £4.40 per hour if you employ someone to illegally feed the meter/drive your car around. So you'd be forking out in 2011 at least £880 a month to shift and park the car *without petrol*.)

They buy a car - invariably - to go to the supermarket. Everyone says, "I have to have a car to go to the supermarket". Although it would almost certainly cost them less to get a taxi back from the supermarket each time. So cost clearly does not figure in their equations that much.

[adam2]

Bus fares are indeed more reasonable if paid in advance via an oyster card, but the cash fare is £2 per single journey.

Whilst circumstances differ, I know of several people who consider a car vital for travel to/from work.
The London undeerground has its merits, but is largely closed at weekends, and for one or two days a month for strikes.
Buses also are useful, but are standing only in many cases and liable to withdrawal if it snows.

I dont drive and normally use public transport, but have to spend a lot on taxi fares in adverese weather or strikes.

[JohnB]

I drove 63 miles last month, and only took the van out three times. A record low for me, and I've done less than 3,000 miles in the last year. . It's a good job I live in it, or it wouldn't justify its existence!

[ziggy12345]

Its a 6000 mile round trip for me to get to work.

[woodpecker]

Bus fares are indeed more reasonable if paid in advance via an oyster card, but the cash fare is £2 per single journey.

You cannot pay a cash fare on 80+% of buses and anywhere in central zones (where the bus numbers are displayed on yellow background). That's been true for at least four years. So the idea you can leave work and hop on a bus and pay two quid is false for many areas of London. You cannot.

There are a few ticket machines in the street, but most seem to be controlled by junkies. They only seem to be used by tourists, who get angry. The nearest one to here is at least 4 miles away. Whereas 3 local shops within 250 yards do Oyster.

The vast majority of people use the Oyster fares, to get to work or for anything else. You'd be daft as a brush not to.

[woodpecker]

According to TfL, single bus trips using cash were 2.5% of bus trips in 2007.
In 2010, the figure was 1.5%.
So to suggest cash trips are the standard form, and cash fares the standard fare, is I think highly misleading.

[2 As and a B]

I have a full to brimming tank of petrol (at 121.9 to 122.9 pence per litre) that should last me, barring the need to do unexpected travel, until April or May.

Oh I forgot, it is the motorists right, to drive their vehicle the way they deem necessary, and the government should lower fuel duty, so they can have their fun.

Indeed. And if people think that fuel is too expensive, it is also their right to power their transport needs themselves.

[frank_begbie]

3.5p per litre sounds much nicer than 17p per gallon