AA Zone
Road Fuel Time to Cooperate?The Cooperative Movement Works for Food So Why Not Road Fuels?
Original Post
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Posted At 05/05/2009 MKFuel  |
It is unlikely anyone who purchases road fuel is going to be keen to see prices rise but that is the inevitable fact of life we are all going to have to face.
For example here is the historical data on unleaded 95. Unleaded 95 petrol UK major brand average pump prices source UKPIA/whatprice.co.uk 2000 - 2009 (pence per litre) 2000 80.20 2001 75.50 2002 73.20 2003 76.30 2004 80.90 2005 87.30 2006 92.11 2007 95.00 2008 107.37 2009 95.60 (current average from whatprice.co.uk) Of course we are now in a situation where inflation is static and possibly negative, interest rates are low, the economy is clearly in recession, world demand is low and oil price is low). What intrigues me is that we have become so dependent on fuel that we are now caught in a Catch 22. Move to diesel and the gov can increase duty on it, convert to lpg and likewise the gov can move in, claiming naturally that the market forces of supply and demand are at work. Even considering producing your own biofuels have added costs that make it difficult for the average motorist to take advantage of the available technology to really reduce their fuel bills. Forecasters are predicting that we will see continued increases in our fuel prices and probably at an alarming rate of increase, especially once the world economy starts to grow again. Here is my proposal. Start a UK fuel cooperative, owned and controlled by its members. Use the collective buying power of the membership to not just buy fuel at more competitive prices but also to buy and supply fuel efficient vehicles, fuel conversion kits and other technologies to reduce the annual costs of motoring. The back office systems exist to now make this an affordable option by tapping into the same infrastructure that the for profit suppliers use. Utilising the buying power of thousands works for other utilities so why not for road fuels and associated equipment? Any interest, feedback or other experience most welcome? |
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MKFuel
Posts: 2
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Subject: Road Fuel Time to Cooperate?
Posted At: 05/05/2009 21:07:22
It is unlikely anyone who purchases road fuel is going to be keen to see prices rise but that is the inevitable fact of life we are all going to have to face.
For example here is the historical data on unleaded 95. Unleaded 95 petrol UK major brand average pump prices source UKPIA/whatprice.co.uk 2000 - 2009 (pence per litre) 2000 80.20 2001 75.50 2002 73.20 2003 76.30 2004 80.90 2005 87.30 2006 92.11 2007 95.00 2008 107.37 2009 95.60 (current average from whatprice.co.uk) Of course we are now in a situation where inflation is static and possibly negative, interest rates are low, the economy is clearly in recession, world demand is low and oil price is low). What intrigues me is that we have become so dependent on fuel that we are now caught in a Catch 22. Move to diesel and the gov can increase duty on it, convert to lpg and likewise the gov can move in, claiming naturally that the market forces of supply and demand are at work. Even considering producing your own biofuels have added costs that make it difficult for the average motorist to take advantage of the available technology to really reduce their fuel bills. Forecasters are predicting that we will see continued increases in our fuel prices and probably at an alarming rate of increase, especially once the world economy starts to grow again. Here is my proposal. Start a UK fuel cooperative, owned and controlled by its members. Use the collective buying power of the membership to not just buy fuel at more competitive prices but also to buy and supply fuel efficient vehicles, fuel conversion kits and other technologies to reduce the annual costs of motoring. The back office systems exist to now make this an affordable option by tapping into the same infrastructure that the for profit suppliers use. Utilising the buying power of thousands works for other utilities so why not for road fuels and associated equipment? Any interest, feedback or other experience most welcome? |
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