Fuel prices leave people asking 'what can we do?'

Fuel prices leave people asking 'what can we do?'

Fuel costs across the UK are now at a record high, leaving people in the south of England searching for ways to manage the rising expense.

Earlier this week, the RAC said diesel prices in the UK had reached an all time high, while petrol prices were also climbing because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

One garage manager in Berkshire said he had seen a shift in customer behaviour, with people more likely to put £20 of fuel in rather than fill their tanks completely.

At the same time, a small charity supporting people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Dorset said it would need to find ways to reduce costs, as running a key minibus service was now costing an extra £2,000 a year.

The MS Centre Dorset operates a fleet of five minibuses, helping users across the county travel to its base in West Parley.

But manager Diana Logan‑Watts said diesel prices had "rocketed so quickly" that the extra costs were "not something that we had budgeted into account".

Diesel prices at pumps across the south have risen above £2 in recent weeks

On Monday, the RAC said diesel prices had entered "uncharted territory" and were a reminder of "just how exposed the UK is to events occurring far away".

It said diesel prices had reached an all-time high of 199.33p per litre - up by just under 40% since the US-Israel conflict with Iran erupted at the end of February.

Logan-Watts said the MS Centre Dorset would "keep on keeping on" despite the huge cost increases, and make sure users could still reach the centre.

"But these rising costs have a knock-on effect, and we don't want to put additional prices and costs onto our members who are already struggling with the cost of living," she said.

"So we have to try and absorb those costs elsewhere, and one of those ways is thinking more closely about the additional services that we're able to offer, like trips.

"These make a real positive difference to our members lives, but will have to be looked at in more depth and ask where the money's going to come from."

Southampton taxi driver Neil McLean said the price increases "need to stop"

It is not only charities in the South that are feeling the pressure, with Southampton taxi driver Neil McLean asking "what can we do?" about the soaring costs.

"We've got to earn a living, and none of us are happy," he said.

"It's not putting money in our pockets, it's taking money out of our pockets - and it needs to stop."

David Price, who owns Southampton-based DCP Haulage, said that if conditions did not improve he would have to consider "parking up trucks" or "actually downscaling".

"We just can't physically afford the fuel prices, we're looking an extra £250 a week per vehicle," Price said.

"We have downscaled a lot lately and we have talked about packing it all up.

"It's not worth it with these prices - you're just not making any money."

Ian Govier, who manages the Littlewick Green Motor Company garage in Maidenhead, said his costs had "gone up dramatically over the years".

"Ten years ago, we'd look at having [a profit margin of] 6p a litre, now I really need close to 15p a litre to still have the same profit," he said.

He said he had also noticed changing customer habits, including more people using cash to "control their budgets".

"We are definitely seeing instead of putting your normal £50 pounds in to fill up, a lot of people are now sticking in £10, £20," he said.

Alongside the rising costs, Govier said he was also dealing with thefts - with some using illegal "ghost" registrations to stop cameras from reading their number plates.

He said he had been forced to invest in a new camera system to deal with such thefts, which also "eats into profits".

"If you don't have a profit you can't invest in the cameras, you can't invest in your staff, you can't invest in people," he added.

John Healey told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm acutely concerned and conscious about how hard it is for families. I see that at the pumps myself.

"We can't remove the cost of living pressures, we can't remove the prices that people are having to pay, but where we can we will act and we will give people just a bit of breathing space, and the same goes for the cost to business."