It’s not often you can save $10 just by crossing the road, but independent service station operator Paul Seaman sees people buying expensive fuel all day long.
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Across the road from his Fitzmaurice Street service station, people queued up to buy Caltex fuel despite it costing 15 cents per litre more than Mr Seaman’s fuel. It’s not that they don’t know about the price difference – both businesses proudly display their prices to everyone that drives past.
But now that Wagga motorists are feeling the pinch, with petrol prices surging upwards as Christmas approaches, Mr Seaman can’t help but shake his head.
“I’ve been doing this for 35 years and I can’t work it out, there’s no common sense,” Mr Seaman said.
“The wholesale price hasn’t gone up, I don’t know if they’re positioning themselves high for Christmas, trying to get people used to paying more. They’ve been doing that a lot this year, putting it up outrageously high and then slowly coming back to where everyone else is (priced).”
The city’s cheapest regular unleaded was 131.9 cents per litre on Thursday morning at the Docker Street Shell, while both Caltex petrol stations and the BP were a whopping 149.9.
When asked why Caltex was 15 cents per litre dearer than the independent service station across the road, a spokeswoman said: “The price of fuel has to factor in a number of elements such as underlying product costs, operational costs such as freight and different levels of local competition, all of which can vary”.
Across the region, petrol prices varied wildly. Coolamon’s Mobil was the cheapest at 122.9, with an Albury independent close behind at 128.9. Further afield, Griffith’s cheapest was 135.9, but the dearest was only 141.9. Gundagai had the region’s most expensive unleaded, starting at 139.9.
NRMA regional affairs advisor Helen Machalias said with prices ranging by up to 20 cents per litre, it was definitely worth shopping around.
“By choosing the cheapest fuel, you could save $12 per tank on the average family sedan,” Ms Machalias said.
“We really feel for motorists over the holiday period – it is an expensive time of year and petrol is a grudge purchase for most consumers.”
Data from the NSW Department of Fair Trading showed petrol prices had jumped by about 10 cents across the state since last Christmas.
According to Ms Machalias, rising global oil prices and a weakening Australian dollar were coinciding with a higher demand for heating oil in the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately, it meant unleaded petrol was expected to crack $1.50 per litre during the Christmas break, soaring 30-40 cents above the mid-year average.
“The price is related to international factors outside motorists’ control, rather than the time of year,” Ms Machalias said. “But Wagga unleaded prices are favourable given current capital city prices. In the past week, Wagga’s ranking for petrol costs have jumped six places, but of the 57 areas the NRMA monitors in the state, Wagga is still the 17th cheapest place to buy fuel.”
The soaring prices come as Australians prepare to hit the road for Christmas; in the December quarter alone, the number of road trips across the country is expected to hit 17 million, compared with 10 million overseas trips for the entire year.
Both Mr Seaman and Ms Machalias said people should use petrol price apps on their phones to avoid paying too much this Christmas.
“If I go on a big road trip I’ll go on the fuel app and check the prices,” Mr Seaman said. “But there’s no point driving halfway across Sydney to get 10 cents off so if you see it cheap, buy it.”