Can you remember when fuel was 89p a litre?

[Ducatista]

but until people stop burning fuel for pleasure I can't really accept that it's a life-changing rise in price

It may be life changing for some individuals and businesses though.
45p is not a lot, but if you're running a haulage firm then that's going to multiply up.
If you do a long commute then it might mean a job is no longer viable.
For people that live in villages on low incomes it's a particualr problem.

It's very to say - well you chose that commute or you chose to live in a village, but sometimes people don't have a vast array of choices.
The long commute might have been the only job available. A young person living at home with parents might not be able to afford to live elsewhere.

I agree in general it's not life-changing, but at the margins it's going to start to put some people out of work. I used to live in a village (hated it) and for the low paid the costs of transport to work is a big issue.

[Dabz]

I didn't mention commuting, haulage companies or businesses who depend on it - I said "until people stop burning it for pleasure", what I should have ended with is "..I can't really accept it's life-changing for those people". Fully accept it makes life extremely difficult for a lot. However I do think it's a bit hypocritical riding a motorcycle for pleasure and then saying fuel costs are becoming prohibitive to surviving financially

[Jon_W]

I agree with Dabz about burning fuel for pleasure. Whilst I'm not happy with the prices, it is as it is. Nowt moaning will do. If we want cheaper motoring then we'll all have to look at the vehicles we drive or ride and make decisions. Do we need to drive a 6ltr 4x4? do we need to drive, would a scooter or motorcycle do the job?

I went through all this six years ago because money was tight for me. I cut my pleasure ride to once per month, bought a cheap 250cc bike for most jouneys, cycles or walked others and layed the small car I had up as much as possible. It worked, I slashed my fuel bill.

Cheap fuel is a thing of the past.

[Dabz]

This is another reason why I'll be working to get the Benly on the road - that thing does over 85mpg if ridden sensibly so it'll be far cheaper for me to commute on that over the summer than in my car

[redken1]

Of course it’s unlikely that an extra cost of 45p to fill the average tank will discourage most from using their bikes. Perhaps I wasn’t very clear, but my original comments were made in the context of a five year period.

A rise of 51.20p per litre since 2007 is just too much of a financial burden for many low paid PAYE and self-employed workers who rely on transport to get to their place of work. Especially for those who have not received an increase in their income during the same period.

High fuel prices have a knock-on effect for every sector of industry and area of the economy. I know a cleaner who works for 6 hours a day for slightly over the minimum wage. The first 75 minutes of her working day pays for her return bus journey fare to work. I’m not moaning, merely pointing out that if fuel continues to rise at a much higher rate than lower scale (minimum wage freeze for under 21s) incomes, work won’t be an affordable option for many.

[Toph]

have you tried running oil fired central heating?
Central heating oil has doubled in price in 5 years. :'(

sorry to go off track , thought it was worth mentioning.

[redken1]

have you tried running oil fired central heating?
Central heating oil has doubled in price in 5 years. :'(

sorry to go off track , thought it was worth mentioning.

Stop using your bike and get a thicker coat :P ;D

[Toph]

Joking aside Ken... I'm earning less now than I was earning 5 years ago.. ( due to lack of overtime and very small rises) Everything you buy these days, from fuel, food, clothes, etc has risen in price drastically,.
thank heavens I'm still in full time employment, and can still find a bit of wonga to run my Thundercat.

When's it gonna get better??? :-? :-?

[redken1]

Don't want to harp on too much Chris and cast doom and gloom on WB :-X, but I do really feel for the young generation.
They are the ones who are going to pay the price for past mistakes.
On a brighter note, I would sell my body to keep my bike - mind you, would probably only make enough to ride a Honda Melody ;D

[Swanny]

At the moment it seems to go up every day :'(