Are the rising fuel prices *driving* you to make different choices for transport?

With fuel rising above €2 a liter now and likely going to go a lot higher, I'm wondering if this is causing folks to rethink how they get around, either commuting, shopping, days out etc, if the normal mode of transport has been a petrol/diesel car.

Overheal

"I'll never recover financially from this" - every American conservative

Ubbquittious

Got LPG today for 84c/l but that might start soaring soon. Petrol is gone insane. I don't drive much at the moment but soon I may have to again

maccored

it'll just drive up the cost of food etc as its all virtually transported by ICE vehicles.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118748559#Comment_118748559

Also farmed by them. Modern farming is really just turning diesel & gas into food. Imagine how many would starve if it was decided there would be no more burning of fossil fuels from tomorrow

elperello

I'm in the UK for the past week.

I note that petrol has increased in price at a local garage during that time by 1 penny per litre.

Overheal

Can anyone explain how much profit is in petrol?

_Kaiser_

I am lucky enough to WFH pretty much full time nowadays, but if I do have to go anywhere then I'll still be driving.

I live in a town an hour from Dublin so while there are some private coach services, they only go to the city centre which isn't much use if I needed to go anywhere else unless I wanted to spend the whole day switching and waiting for services. Public transport isn't cheap either!

Locally there's no service to speak of and as I live on the edge of the town, it would be a good half hour plus walk to the shopping centre, or pay for a taxi - again not cheap.

Public transport is grand if you live in the cities or have simple A-B journeys. Not so much for anything else.

I don't cycle and it wouldn't help anyway with the longer journeys.

Buying an EV won't be happening either - massive upfront expense, and no driveway to charge it on anyway. Plus the notion that this option will be a lot cheaper long term is a fallacy. When enough people have switched over, the motor tax rates will surge and there'll no doubt be some sort of equivalent "fuel" costs to charge it just as with ICE vehicles - petrol stations won't be going out of business, and all that increased electricity infrastructure will have to be paid for.

KildareP

I have no choice but to drive - public transport alternative turns a 1 hour each way commute into a 2+ hour each way.

Last fill of diesel, €99 for 54L late last week, 100KM round trip commute so it's about €10 a day in diesel.

Going electric is not viable on a purely cost savings perspective - electricity costs here are ultimately pegged to gas prices which are rising in similar sharp fashion and look set to rise significantly more if the Russians start turning off supply as we have no other way to get gas into this country.

Even as prices currently stand I won't come close to making back the extra outlay for an electric car in fuel savings alone.

However, I am looking at changing jobs in the near future and the ability to WFH is going to be a hugely important factor, €10 a day in diesel or about €1.50 a day in electricity to heat the shed office.

titan18

Thankfully still working from home, but my commute to work would be a 35 minute walk to the train station, 10 minute train journey and another 15 minute walk after that vs about 20 minutes in the car. Not really worth it.

Varik

Looking at €16 (going by car) but feels closer to €20 a day, definitely looking at EV.

Kintarō Hattori

Working from home for the last two years thankfully. My journey to work was 88km to work each day (there and back). Two years ago I was spending €200 per month on petrol. I shudder to think what it would cost now. The car is now used for trips around town, bringing the 5 year old places and a trip down to Kildare about once a week.

Furze99

Rural area, no public transport, no choice.

Those looking to EVs should take no solace either as electricity prices have to rise as well and there could even be power cuts.

No winners in this at all. Except maybe Revenue who are creaming off extra excise duties and VAT with every increase on the global markets. So next time you hear a politician wringing their hands, give them a long hard cold look. The power to reduce costs is entirely in those same hands.

maccored

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118748575#Comment_118748575

very much all stick and no carrot. until there are viable alternatives for everyone (not just large city dwellers) then the govn should reduce their taxation of fuel

zell12

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Amirani

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118749500#Comment_118749500

The amount of electricity used in charging an EV means that an increase in price in electricity will have little impact. It's will be an order of magnitude less than the increase in petrol prices.

BrianD3

I know some carers (employed by private agencies) who travel from house to house in rural areas using their own cars. They are strongly considering giving up their jobs. They are paid very poorly and most that I've talked to say they don't get any travel expenses whatsoever. They are providing an essential public service and with current fuel prices it is barely paying them to work.

What will our wonderful state do about this - nothing as usual. Who suffers? The people who are depending on this service being provided.

Thelonious Monk

There's no option in the poll for people that don't use cars. I set my life up in a way that I don't need to own a car, I can use a bike to get to work or take public transport.

As stated already in this thread fuel prices will hit even us Green heroes who don't drive through food prices etc., so there's no escaping it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118752011#Comment_118752011

Well yeah, the poll assumes that an ICE car is the primary mode. Granted I shouldn't have included the 2nd last EV option but only spotted that afterwards.

Personally, I'm in the same boat as you, gave up the car back in 2020 when I changed to WFH and when we bought a place we waited until we found somewhere in our budget that had great PT links

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118751800#Comment_118751800

Dream on.. if EVs are ever widely adopted, we'll soon see a whole new taxation landscape surrounding their ownership & use. Electricity has never been cheap in this country.

elperello

I think I will continue as before to drive, cycle, walk and use public transport as it suits me.

The rise in fuel prices, even without the revenue adjustment is not enough to make me change my transport choices.

I'm not sure how much of a rise would change my mind.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118755957#Comment_118755957

I live in a well connected central enough suburb in Dublin and the fuel prices don't seem to be affecting people much, every school around here is still a total traffic mess in the mornings and afternoons. I think we'd need to see prices go way higher for people to start actually driving less if that's even an option.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118748942#Comment_118748942

A penny or two a litre, the real money is in the shop and especially in the Coffee machines. There is a petrol station on a motorway here that grosses over a million in Coffee per annum. Obviously that's exceptional.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118756015#Comment_118756015

Unfortunately for many the options are limited.

The school the kids go to, the job commute etc. were chosen at say €1.20 litre and will most likely not change due to price.

They will just pay up and cut back on other expenditure.

Maybe long term they will make better decisions based on price.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118756033#Comment_118756033

Yes apparently those coffee machines can be goldmines, it's why there are so many around now in pretty much every convenience store and garage

Jump_In_Jack

One thing not in the poll,

but I have the flexibility to reduce my time on site each week and WFH more often.

Since the pandemic began I have been going on site anywhere from zero days to 5 days a week.

At the moment I'm only going in 2 days a week because as fuel is becoming more expensive, and my commute is at least a 40 minute drive each way, I'm making the decision to forego time on site in favour of saving on fuel expenses.

Hopefully my employer will afford me the option to do that going forward, but that's not guaranteed by any means.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118756051#Comment_118756051

Car reliance is all down to bad planning and sprawl. We can blame decades of ineptitude from various governments but it seems a lot of Irish people want the 2 car household semi D or one off instead of living in closer quarters, apartments etc.

We need to start planning things differently.