Petrol Prices

[pjh75]

Having worked at Esso, they sell to the supermarkets also, so you will see tesco, sainsburys etc filling at their depots, the only difference is the additives that go in !

You've answered the question that sprung to my mind... thought that would be the case.

[pigletwillie]

The rub is, the days of cheap fuel are gone, it is only ever going to get dearer. By all means boycott one brand, but people as a mass wont, they are lazy and will go where is nearer, or on the way to work etc.

I commute 40 miles round trip and its a trip that is only ever going to get dearer, but then they dont dig out quarries in towns, it upsets the locals, likewise I am never going to get a bus to suit my hours of work so the car is my only choice, I am a captive market buying an an ever increasingly expensive product.

The government finances are shot, tax will only rise, except perhaps income tax cs they think we are stupid enough to think the rest are not direct taxes.

[BFG]

I got that email originally maybe 5 years ago. Although now that faceache rules the world, maybe it's got more chance of working this time.

[sewer rat]

We are hitting 114.9 a litre in some areas now, soon we will be faced with paying 1.50 a litre.

We passed £1.14 ages ago - we are already well up past £1.20 per litre for both petrol and deisel - and up here, public transport is a joke. What buses there are take three to four times longer to get to Inverness as they call in at every little village en route, trains - 3 a day!! We need to drive to survive!

[Jeanied]

Hi Sewer Rat - petrol at BP in Cowley- near West Draytn - £1.16.9 for the last 2 weeks.
Gridlock to get anywhere1

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Like the trains?

There's no free market with trains - it's exactly the same as it was when it was a government monopoly, except now the monopolies are smaller. Try getting a train from Manchester to London without paying Virgin. It's not just private sector that matters, but competition between private sector bodies. As things stand Virgin have no reason whatsoever to lower their prices. Just like AerLingus never did - then Ryanair nearly put them out of business. Worst case scenario now a flight to Ireland costs the same as it always has. Best case, you can go for free. Imagine that kind of model on the trains. Competition... that's what brings the price down. That's what makes it desirble. Same as with the Dover - Calais ferries. They are vastly cheaper than any other international route. Why? Because there's a lot of competition. Other routes there's either less or none.

What about health care for the elderly? I know a housebound old lady who has carers come in to wash her, feed her and keep her house clean. These carers are from an agency, and some of them frankly couldn't care less. They certainly aren't nurses, they aren't trained properly and they don't form any kind of relationship with the 'patient': indeed, the old lady doesn't know who she's seeing from one week to the next. They turn up late, or not at all. They stand outside having a fag instead of cleaning the house.

1> The way I'd like to see it go, is anyone who is currently reliant on the government to provide for them should be provided for. I'd never advocate people like you described (and I've got a neighbour just like that too, I help and visit her all I can) being dumped by the state... but for those not already reliant on the state - again, private sector. Pay in while you work and reap the benefits when you're old.
2> Those carers are useless. Again though, there's a lack of competition. It's still effectively a state monopoly even though they outsource to useless buggers like that. Imagine if those carers and their bosses knew that other care companies were knocking on their clients door trying to get their custom... they'd be doing their job properly then - or they'd lose it to a better (and quite possibly cheaper) company.

I'm not going to get old, I'm going to have a short break in Switzerland instead

Not for me. Well, short breaks in Switzerland maybe, but I'll be getting a return ticket!

I'm going to look into getting a bike soon! I still have to drive for work but then, work is not going to last forever!

Neither's the petrol!
Good on you though... After a few private messages between myself and Two_Sheds I've realised just how much I've missed cycling in the past few years since I stopped riding. A couple of jobs for the bike shop around the corner and I'll be back on too.
Just need to save up for a cargo bike... or maybe one of the lovely "sit up and beg" types so ubiquitous in Amsterdam... or maybe a beach cruiser!

The rub is, the days of cheap fuel are gone, it is only ever going to get dearer. By all means boycott one brand, but people as a mass wont, they are lazy and will go where is nearer, or on the way to work etc.

I believe the word I'm looking for is "Bingo!".
Still - the petrol companies are currently selling at about 40p a litre. Even if they bumped it up to 50p petrol would be very cheap for a good while to come if the useless wasters in government didn't take over 100% in tax on it.
It'd get back to this price eventually... but it'd happen naturally and by then there'll be a lot less resentment about it all and a greater sense of inevitability that'd get people either into electric or fuel-cell cars, onto bikes or onto the (by then, if I get my way) cheap and efficient public transport brought about by competition.

I commute 40 miles round trip and its a trip that is only ever going to get dearer, but then they dont dig out quarries in towns, it upsets the locals, likewise I am never going to get a bus to suit my hours of work so the car is my only choice, I am a captive market buying an an ever increasingly expensive product.

Exactly why I'm so opposed to taxing fuel like they do. You've got no choice at all so all it can do is hurt you. That's just not right by any stretch of the imagination.
Thats the reality of taxation - the people it hurts the most are those who can ill afford it and have the least choice.
Taxation when there's no alternative (be it a lack of technology or plain old impracticality) is completely unjustifiable.

The government finances are shot, tax will only rise, except perhaps income tax cs they think we are stupid enough to think the rest are not direct taxes.

Maybe not. For a while, yes. But there's a party that is fundamentally different to all the others. The (relatively) newly formed libertarian party. They stand for less government, lower taxation and liberty. Nice ideals at least. Doubt they'll see office any time soon though.

[organic]

In other news...
...for a while I've been flirting with hypermiling. In the last couple of days I've really been putting the effort in.
Today I've made 3 journeys where I've reset the trip clock at the start. One was abour 42mpg at rush hour but the other two (one a motorway run, the other cross town with a few traffic lights in the way) came in at 50.5mpg. That's in a Fiat Punto... "not half bad".

Next target is 55mpg... I've started killing the engine when I stop at the lights so that should be achievable.

[Madasafish]

The original email is at least 10 years old.

It was rubbish then and is rubbish now.

Government sets fuel prices through tax. Period.

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Madasafish
All that time I spent finding out what kind of percentage goes on tax andwhat goes to the pertol companies and then you come along with three lines and say it all!
Hmph!

[jacob marley]

There is no point in worrying the price of petrol is relative to whatever you want it to be .
When i was a teenager petrol was 4/- @ gallon (20p) now it some where near £6.30p @ gallon .
When i was a teenage you could have 3 hours of fun in the back row of the pictures for 3/9 you cannot get in for less than £20 quid now that is how i work on the fact that petrol ain't to dear but it is still dear enough.
So do not worry to much there ain.t nothing can be done about it .jacob