With the holiday season just days away and some long road trips coming up, we’re all hoping that the forecasts for a really significant fuel price drop this week are correct.
But even if it does happen, the decrease will probably only take the inland price of petrol (95 octane) down to around R15 per litre – which is a whopping R9 more per litre than it was at this time 10 years ago – and will still make the average price for this year higher than the previous record average of R13,96, which was reached in 2013.
And as we all know, high fuel prices and bad for inflation, bad for interest rates and bad for the economy as a whole, not to mention bad for our individual household budgets and savings plans.
In fact, the latest AA survey revealed that 39% of SA’s road users are already travelling “much less” in an attempt to reduce the effect of high fuel prices, and our own experience shows a significant increase in the number of consumers moving house specifically to be closer to work, schools and amenities and cut down on their commutes.
However, there are some trips we all still have to make, and even if you are in a lift-club or carpool, it’s worth keeping the following tips in mind to lower fuel consumption and costs:
