Central Coast petrol prices: suburbs paying the most
The Central Coast is the most car-reliant region in NSW, but government fuel data showed we also had three of the five highest petrol prices in the state last week.
Central Coast
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MOTORISTS on the peninsula were the state’s hardest hit in the hip pocket last week as the Central Coast’s great petrol-price divide worsened.
According to the NSW government’s latest fuel data, the peninsula had three of the state’s five highest average E10 unleaded prices in the week to last Thursday - with another servo at Kariong making it into the top five.
Coles Express servos at Woy Woy and Umina, BP Woy Woy and Coles Express at Kariong were all charging an average of 148.4c a litre.
The highest of the 1325 servos monitored in NSW was 149.9c at Coles Express Kingsgrove, in Sydney’s south-west.
But, conversely, the Coast also recorded two of the state’s cheapest average E10 fuel prices last week, with United Petroleum North Wyong and Metro North Wyong both at 115.4c.
This represents a whopping 33c average price disparity, which means motorists in the region’s north saved $19 filling up an average 60-litre tank of fuel.
The latest data shows the Coast’s pump-price differential has almost doubled over the past three years. On February 20 last year it was 26.8c, which was worse than 17.4c on July 13, 2015.
The state’s peak motoring body is urging motorists to monitor the “real-time” petrol prices in the region on its free “my nrma” app ahead of the Easter long weekend.
“Conservatively, our members are now saving $500 a year by finding the cheapest prices on the app,” NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said.
“We can give our (2.6 million) members the real-time data now.
“That doesn’t close the (big) gap for E10 fuel, but it enables people to make the most of discounts when they are there and to ignore the highest-priced service station.”
NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property Victor Dominello said the government’s FuelCheck app was a “game changer” for motorists.
“More than 150,000 people have downloaded the app since its launch last October,” he said. “That many people can’t be wrong, and motorists have clearly given FuelCheck the thumbs up.
“By providing motorists with a bird’s-eye view of the market and shining a spotlight on petrol prices, users of the app can potentially save hundreds of dollars a year.”
Retailers blame the recent fuel slug on a 36 per cent increase in oil prices since June last year, as well as extra overheads.
“Service station costs in areas such as electricity and rents have increased substantially since 2015, increasing by 80 per cent and 30 per cent respectively in the last 12 months alone,” CEO of the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association Mark McKenzie said.
“And there have been four increases in fuel tax excise since January 1, 2015 (Federal fuel excise is now 40.9c/l).
“In respect of prices in the lead-up to Easter, motorists should check out the fuel price cycle information that is readily available on the ACCC website (accc.gov.au/consumers).”
Mr Khoury says “now is the time to buy up” as the price cycle is “likely to work against us” at Easter.
POPULAR PETROL APPS
* FuelCheck: The government’s app includes a “favourite stations” function and a “my trip” function which uses Google Maps to help users find the cheapest petrol station on their journey. There is also a trends page, which shows the cheapest day of the week to fill up and the day’s price range.
* My NRMA: This app has the same real-time petrol prices near you, and you can select your fuel type.
* MotorMouth: Users can search by combined fuel types, including E10/unleaded 91, and diesel/premium diesel when using the MotorMouth website or app to compare fuel prices.
* 7-Eleven: This app allows users to find 7-Eleven’s best local fuel price and lock it in for seven days.
* GasBuddy Australia: Compete against other GasBuddies by reporting good fuel prices and helping others save fuel.
Each of these can be downloaded at the Apple apps store or on Google Play for android users.
