DRIVERS WELCOME DROP IN FUEL PRICES AT CUMBRIAN SUPERMARKETS


Professional drivers have welcomed a drop in the price of supermarket petrol, saying they have borne the brunt of high fuel costs.

Firms in Carlisle and west Cumbria spoke as Asda and Tesco moved to reduce their petrol and diesel prices by up to 2p a litre.

Wayne Casey, chairman of the Carlisle Taxi Owners’ Association, told the News & Star: “It is good news. Fuel, obviously, is a massive cost and anything that brings it down is a good thing.

(we have a photo of Mr Casey, but we cannot post it until after 9pm, when the kidz have gone to bed.)

“Prices are not as high as they were in the recent past but they are still higher than they were a few years ago.

“Fuel and insurance is the majority of a taxi driver’s expenses. If fuel goes down it is good news for cab drivers and any other motorists.”

Mr Casey said the public were aware of the burden placed on firms using fuel.

“The majority of the public realise that the price of fuel does affect our income,” he added.

Driving instructor Ian Bell runs Ian Bell School of Motoring, at Seaton, Workington.

He said: “There is a lot of money being made for the Government on fuel. We as consumers are getting the blunt end of it. I think the price drop is a very good thing.

“Fuel costs have a big impact. We have to come in with a competitive price. Over the last four years I’ve had to cushion the increase in fuel out of my own pocket.”

Asda said that from yesterday motorists would pay no more than 126.7p a litre for petrol and 133.7p a litre for diesel.

It said that its diesel would now fall to its lowest price in 18 months.

Pete Williams, head of external affairs at the RAC, said: “The supermarkets are helping to brighten up January by knocking 2p a litre off petrol and diesel in reaction to falling wholesale prices.”

Edmund King, president of the AA, added: “Fuel price reductions at the pumps will bring a sigh of relief to many drivers who are struggling to make ends meet after bigger than normal financial outgoings during the festive period.

“We hope that other supermarkets and fuel retailers follow the lead of Asda and Tesco to cut their prices at the pumps, otherwise we just end up with a fuel-price lottery based on proximity to certain supermarkets.”

Chancellor George Osborne has pledged to freeze fuel duty until May 2015.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/professional-drivers-welcome-drop-in-fuel-prices-at-cumbrian-supermarkets-1.1110162