Motorists urged to get savvy amid petrol price chaos

Melbourne motorists face a nearly 50c per litre difference in fuel prices between service stations, with some outlets selling the same brand charging vastly different amounts, just streets apart.

Melbourne petrol prices are swinging widely. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Some Melbourne servos are charging up to 50 cents more per litre for unleaded fuel than others, with the huge differences at times in the same suburb.

A Herald Sun analysis of fuel prices on Monday has revealed even the same company, selling the same fuel across multiple stations in the same suburb, had huge price differences — with Victorian retailers able to set and update their prices on a whim.

Popular price-tracking site Petrol Spy showed U91 unleaded — the most common type of standard unleaded petrol in Australia — going as cheap as 161.9 cents in Hawthorn and its surrounding suburbs at United and Ampol service stations.

Picture: Nicki Connolly

Just a few hundred metres away, however, it was as high as 213.3 cents per litre at another Ampol service station, along with Shell Reddy and 7-Eleven servos.

At some East Melbourne suburbs Shell Reddy had the cheapest fuel at 158.9 cents, with Ampol the most expensive at 213.9 cents per litre.

Moving west, fuel prices got cheaper, with Footscray offering as low as 157.6 cents and the price dropping further still in Ardeer, to 155.7 cents.

In the city’s north, Glenroy’s Metro fuels appeared to offer the best deal at 158.7 cents while in the south, East Bentleigh was the place to fuel-up with Shell Reddy and United service stations charging 158.9 cents.

As of Monday afternoon, the average price for U91 was hovering around 170.3 cents across Melbourne.

The wild inconsistency in fuel prices comes despite the introduction of new regulations in Victoria that require fuel retailers to share their prices almost immediately after changing them.

As of earlier this month, any fuel retailer has to register with Services Victoria and update any price change to their fuel within half an hour, either manually through a web portal or automatically via an API (Application Programming Interface).

Consumers can then view the data via the Services Victoria App.