Issue 293 - TAXI Newspaper

More readers than the rest put together! 14 MAY 2013 | TAXI 17
NEWS
Petrol sales plummet
Motoring
Petrol sales have fallen to their
lowest level since records began,
according to the AA.
Consumption across the country
slumped to a 23-year low of
1.37billion litres last month.
It amounts to 56million litres less
being sold since February and marks
the lowest level of consumption
since January 1990.
A higher take up of
smaller more
economical
cars is said to
be part of the
reason for the
drop, as
motorists ditch
their old gasguzzling
cars.
Motoring
experts believe
the increasing
cost of running
a car has also
forced many
drivers to
switch to
public transport or use their
vehicles less.
Luke Bosdet, from the AA, said
speculators betting on petrol price
movements are to blame for
pushing up petrol prices.
He said: “It’s a completely daft
situation. Europe has got more petrol
than anyone knows what to do with
but petrol is still unaffordable for
many drivers.
“People just can’t afford these prices.
Our research shows two thirds of
people are using their
cars less or cutting
back elsewhere to
compensate for higher
prices.”
In a bid to attract
motorists,
supermarkets have
started a petrol price
war which has seen
the fuel price fall
from 136p a litre to 134p in
recent days.
Supermarkets Tesco, Asda,
Sainsbury’s and Morrisons
have all slashed prices
at the pumps for the
second time in a few days because of
a drop in wholesale fuel costs.
But petrol still costs 2p a litre more
than at the start of the year, with
prices soaring over the past three
years by more than 10 per cent from
121p a litre.
Retailers' profit margins have
increased by 57% over last four
years, it has been revealed.
One piece of welcome news for
drivers is car insurance premiums
are falling, with a 4.1 per cent drop
over the past 12 months, according
to the AA.
But a typical annual comprehensive
insurance policy has still doubled in
price since 2008 – to nearly £750.
Earlier this year the Office of Fair
Trading ruled out a full inquiry into
the petrol price market.
MPs and motoring groups accused
the OFT of a ‘whitewash’, when it
said the market is ‘working well’ even
though drivers paid a record
average price of 135.8p per litre of
petrol last year.
The Chancellor froze fuel duty in
the budget, cancelling a rise planned
for September.
Bilker Watch
Don’t Lose out!
[ ]
LTDA Bilking Fund
Incidents involving passengers
who fail to pay their taxi fare,
especially at night, are on the
increase. LTDA members who
experience this problem can
request the LTDA to
investigate the incident and
endeavour to recover the
unpaid fare. If the LTDA is
unsucessful, but the member is
able to provide evidence of a
police report reference, a
compensation payment (max
£50) may be available from the
LTDA Bilking Fund.
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