It might be expected that the cost of fuel is the same across the UK, but new data has revealed that some parts of the country are spending a bigger portion of their salary than others.
The survey from GoCompare analyses the cost of a litre of petrol as a percentage of the average hourly salary in a particular region and found that while Londoners might well pay more for many things in general, such as the price of a pint of beer, the cost of fuel is only 5.36% of their hourly salary, which works out as the most affordable in the country. So Londoners may pay more for everything, but generally their salaries are higher on average. At the other end of the scale, drivers in the East Midlands are using 8.37% of their hourly salary on petrol, making the region the most expensive. The data revealed that Hull is the most expensive city for fuel, motorists in East Yorkshire forking out 10 per cent of their average hourly salary on petrol.
Similar research from Confused.com found that drivers in Blackpool pay the least for their petrol, though that doesn’t take into consideration wages earned and is not reflective of the North West as a whole.
Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, says: “Fuel prices across the North West are increasing and showing little sign of slowing down.
“And this is the same for the rest of the UK. Just when we thought we were out of the woods - fuel prices start to go up again. No wonder drivers are confused.
“It’s typical that this is happening at a time when the UK is about to enter economic uncertainty.
“But in the long run, motorists should be doing all they can to save on fuel costs.”