As petrol and diesel prices hit £2.50 a litre in some areas of the UK, motoring organisations are pointing to a major imbalance in the cost of fuel dependent on where in the country you fill up your car.
Londoners are possibly used to paying a premium on things which are generally cheaper in other parts of Britain, they pay more for their houses, have more expensive beer and just driving into the centre of the capital comes with the punitive ULEZ and congestion charges, and last week The Sun reported that one petrol station in Chelsea was charging £2.38 a litre for petrol.
But it’s not just our capital which is experiencing this imbalance, some harder to reach parts of the nation are also seemingly punished. In the Scottish Highlands last week, one pump was asking for £2.13p a litre of diesel, which is almost worst than the Chelsea price, purely because drivers have less choice in remote areas.
“There are around 8,000 petrol stations in the UK so it’s pretty hard to know where has the most expensive petrol per litre but London tends to be at the more expensive end,” said Jack Cousens, Head of Roads Policy at the AA.
“It also tends to be in more rural areas where it’s a little bit more expensive than normal.
“If you’re lucky enough to have a supermarket fuel station nearby, that tends to drag down prices in the area, as they have more flexibility, meaning other retailers try and bring their prices into line.
“But that effect has diminished somewhat, so it really is a case of shopping around.”