Report leaves us fuming
Fuel pump price jump
REGIONAL drivers are paying more for petrol than Melbourne motorists, and the disparity is only getting worse for those in Geelong, a new report has revealed.
While in most regional cities petrol prices are moving closer to those in Melbourne, Geelong prices are bucking the trend — by increasing.
The surging disparity was revealed in a report on fuel prices in regional Victoria tabled in State Parliament yesterday by the Economic, Education, Jobs and Skills Committee.
The report found regional residents were more vulnerable to high fuel prices.
The average price differen- tial between Melbourne and regional locations had decreased by 3.7 cents since 2013-14, but for Geelong’s motorists it had climbed by 2.4 cents in the same period.
In 2013-14, petrol prices were an average of 2.2 cents cheaper in Geelong than in Melbourne.
In the latest statistics, taking in the period from 2016-17, petrol prices were now an average of 0.2 cents more expensive in Geelong than in Melbourne.
This was the third-worst turnaround of all Victorian regional locations, with only Wallan (increase of 2.7 cents) and Bendigo (increase of 3.4 cents) faring worse.
The Victorian Parliament committee found that some re- gional locations had unusually high prices compared with nearby areas.
“Reasons for price discrepancies are local market factors, such as the level of competition between service stations, and price lags due to lower stock turnover,” committee chair Nazih Elasmar said.
The committee recommended encouraging the use of fuel price apps and reviewing any barriers for new entrants into regional fuel markets to promote competition in regional locations.
“Improving the fuel price information available to regional Victorians helps them to make informed decisions about when and where to purchase fuel,” Mr Elasmar said.
“We recommend that the Victorian Government encourage the use of fuel price apps and support the RACV’s efforts to improve its app by using crowdsourced data from its members.”