Petrol sales down 15%

[lowdrag]

I noticed this on the morning news, and wondered how you are being affected and if you have made any changes, either in driving style or by cutting out unnecessary journies. I know my mileage has dropped and that I drive far more sedately, decreasing consumption by 20%. Over to you.

[kambites]

I'm fairly certain that I'm driving more now, because the roads are significantly emptier so I enjoy it more.

I don't know whether I'm using more or less fuel though - less time sitting in traffic but more time bouncing off the red-line.

[VR6 Turbo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15176330

this has to be costing the government more? even a 50% cut in fuel duty would see an increase in spending on fuel. I know it would me.

and everything is transported by road at some point! so the increased cost ends up being paid by the public. surly this could be a key factor In 'restarting the economy'?

VR

[soda]

I've went from 44mpg to 19mpg recently, a healthy increase and just doing my bit to help out the economy

[rhinochopig]

VR6 Turbo said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15176330

this has to be costing the government more? even a 50% cut in fuel duty would see an increase in spending on fuel. I know it would me.

and everything is transported by road at some point! so the increased cost ends up being paid by the public. surly this could be a key factor In 'restarting the economy'?

VR

£15 billion according to the news this morning.

[Sam.F]

This is the problem with the government relying on fuel duty to bring in cash isn't it - prices have passed the tipping point where motorists decide to drive less/switch to a more economical car/etc so despite higher taxes they are actually taking less money in...

[HellDiver]

I was only doing 8k a year. This year I've done just less than 5k. 1k of that was business miles.

Last fill of petrol cost £71. Should do 6 weeks.

[Snowboy]

The article says there's been a 15% drop based on the figures 3 years ago.

I can't find any evidence right now, but I'm going to take a guess that the average car on the road is much more efficient now then it was 3 years ago.

So, I'm going to suggest a lot of this drop is just down to improved fuel economy.

[Ved]

I do about 20k a year and probably just under half of that is with work. As I get 45p back per mile I try to make the most of it and drive with a sensible mindset. Personal miles aren't affected and I'll drive as I would usually.

[mnkiboy]

Snowboy said:

The article says there's been a 15% drop based on the figures 3 years ago.

I can't find any evidence right now, but I'm going to take a guess that the average car on the road is much more efficient now then it was 3 years ago.

So, I'm going to suggest a lot of this drop is just down to improved fuel economy.

Could well be true. The scrappage scheme took a lot of old cars off the road and replaced them with little fuel efficient shopping cars, most of them made by Hyundai.

Also, the increase of electric cars in the past 3 years will have made a difference. Oh wait, that never actually took off.

[Bursar]

I still drive at the same top speeds but I've eased off on how quickly I get there, and that seems to have made quite a difference to my economy. I haven't measured my mpg, but I haven't been in a petrol station for some time now (compared to my quite frequent trips when I was mashing the loud pedal!).

[VR6 Turbo]

Snowboy said:

The article says there's been a 15% drop based on the figures 3 years ago.

I can't find any evidence right now, but I'm going to take a guess that the average car on the road is much more efficient now then it was 3 years ago.

So, I'm going to suggest a lot of this drop is just down to improved fuel economy.

True!

but that just clarifies that its the Petrol head in his thumping great engined car, that will save the country. and not your eco mentalist, polo blue motion driver. which is slightly ironic really!

VR's plan to save the UK economy. everyone has a V8 and we cut fuel duty.

[k-ink]

I stopped doing loads of sub 1 mile trips locally, where fuel consumption is at it's worst when cold. Now I use a vintage BMX to cruise about to the post office, grab some milk etc. No commuting for me either as I work online. The car gets spanked everywhere else though.

[sinizter]

Mine has doubled since Mar 2011. Longer commute distance and less economical car.

[Twincam16]

Sam.F said:

This is the problem with the government relying on fuel duty to bring in cash isn't it - prices have passed the tipping point where motorists decide to drive less/switch to a more economical car/etc so despite higher taxes they are actually taking less money in...

According to Tesco it's also hurting the fuel retailers too. I welcome an increase in people shopping more locally and using more independent retailers, but when you've got a situation where people are struggling to profit selling petrol, simply because people are buying less of it, then it's obviously too expensive.

And when you bear in mind that 70-odd percent of the price is taxation, it's clear to me that with the right tax cut, the government could actually reduce costs for the end user whilst also increasing their own tax take.

The 'lower fuel duty' petition has passed 100,000 signatories so by their own rules they'll have to debate it in Parliament.

If they don't cut it, then it'll be obvious that it's become a 'prohibitive tax', like that on tobacco, calculated to create a 'nudge' effect to force people to change their lifestyle rather than to pay for the transport infrastructure.

[kambites]

Twincam16 said:

And when you bear in mind that 70-odd percent of the price is taxation, it's clear to me that with the right tax cut, the government could actually reduce costs for the end user whilst also increasing their own tax take.

People often say that, but I've never seen anyone back it up with figures. Actually put together some even vaguely realistic numbers for tax cuts and increase in usage and I might start to believe it. As it is, I think it's complete rubbish, I'm afraid. Any cut in tax would lower their revenue dramatically.

[Superhoop]

I think it's got more to do with people driving slower, than driving less. I do a lot of motorway driving (probably at least 30k a year) and you see more people doing 65 - 70, than people doing 85 -90 like you would have a couple of years ago

There is also the 'scrappage factor' so people are driving newer, more efficient cars, as has already been mentioned

To back up the slower driving theory - I did hear the other day, that the average accident repair cost has dropped in the last 12 - 18 months, due to accidents occurring at lower speeds, therefore causing less damage - you can bet that in hard economic times, there are more people claiming the bit of compo for 'whiplash Injuries innit' though

[D1ngd0ng]

I bought a car with a bigger engine, I feel able to absorb the cost and driving pleasure has also increased. Gonna be a wrench to sell when the the new company barge arrives.

[ad551]

I think the price of fuel now has influenced my behaviour much more than I thought it had, subconsciously.

I now ride to work, walk to the shops and take my bike when visiting friends and other places around town. I'm probably fitter than I have been for many years because of this.

I only drive now when I really need to, and almost all of my trips are longer journeys and for fun. I'm lucky that I don't need to drive to work or for work. I've done just over 4000 miles since January - think it will come to around 6000 miles in total for the year - a few years ago I was probably doing around twice this mileage and five years ago when I was driving for work I was doing about 30k miles a year. I don't miss most of those miles, and now I really appreciate getting out for a drive in the car.

[daemon]

I've went from a couple of years ago using £500 of diesel a month and using £2000 of home heating oil a year to no petrol / diesel costs (i work from home) and having a wood pellet burner to heat the house.

Sorry, i just need to nip out and hug a tree...