Fuel price cycle costing motorists $400 a year

23 September 2009

Perth motorists being caught out by the weekly fuel price cycle could be paying an extra $400 a year for petrol according to new analysis by the RAC.

The analysis of the first six months of prices since BP and Caltex reintroduced the weekly fuel cycle shows that motorists filling up at the wrong time are paying around $8 a tank more than they should.

The RAC’s Head of Member Advocacy Matt Brown says that’s pure profit going straight into the pockets of the big oil companies.

“If you’re filling up at those BP or Caltex stations which have spiked their prices you’re being ripped off,” Mr Brown said.

“The fuel price cycle was not re-introduced for the benefit of motorists, it was always designed to benefit the big oil companies. Motorists are being caught out and if they are filling up at the wrong time and at the wrong station, they’re blowing a hole in their annual petrol budget.”

BP and Caltex lead the weekly fuel cycle by spiking their prices at selected stations by as much as 18 cents a litre, usually on a Wednesday. The rest of the Perth metropolitan market is then dragged up as other stations then shift their prices up in response on subsequent days.

The RAC analysis took the spiked prices being charged by BP and Caltex and compared them with the average price for the rest of metropolitan Perth.

The analysis showed that motorists filling up at those BP and Caltex stations on a Wednesday rather than shopping around for stations charging the average price had cost themselves $208 over the past six months.

If those motorists had gone to a station charging the average price and offering a “shopper docket” discount they would have saved themselves $284 (over the past six months).

When compared to the lowest price on offer, the motorists would have paid $372 more by buying at the spiked prices.

Mr Brown urged motorists to get smarter about the way they buy petrol.

“FuelWatch is a great way for motorists to make informed decisions about where and when to buy petrol,” Mr Brown said.

“Motorists also need to become more aware of how the cycle works at their local stations. At this stage it usually makes sense to buy your petrol on a Tuesday at most stations, or on a Wednesday at a non-BP or non-Caltex station.”

Download the release (pdf)