Avoid soaring fuel prices on National Liftshare Day

So in the good times it was all thanks to our wonderful chancellors prudence and his masterful handling of our economy, now its all gone pear shaped its the fault of the world markets.....nothing to do with our own dear government. Does anyone actually believe this nonsense?

In the 80's I used to think the Conservatives were bad enough but this lot really take the biscuit. Is there any wonder crime is in an upward spiral and the black economy booming when our elected government cream off so much of the hard earned income of the honest british worker?

Just when fuel prices were getting more reasonable in UK, Brown breaks another promise and raises fuel duty by 2p.
1/ Visitors from the US are already appalled by our prices at the pumps.
2/ Labour certainly will lose the next election but will Cameron handle things any differently? Let's hope so!
3/ With ref to blog no 69, it would seem that far too many ridiculously overpaid bankers have little or no experience of basic banking principles and should be paid a lot less than a well trained joiner who contributes much more to society

this is so fake and crazy. ha ha ha he he he

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Or so the Ancients would have us believe. Only, the hour is now here, but the man isn't. Duggie Brown is showing us that he is only a post turtle. Impotent. Useless.

ah sure i know what ye all mean

@179 -> "Oil prices droped to $110. I guess it wasnt Peak oil after all....."

We're not quite yet at Peak (Conventional & Non-Conventional) oil - but we've passed the point where there is enough spare capacity in production to ensure that supply can continue to meet demand at all times.

When there is spare production capacity, the supply can be varied, thus balancing supply and demand, and keeping the price relatively stable.

The territory we're now in is one where the price is going to jump up and down as there becomes temporary shortages and gluts.

When is the price at the pump going to come down in relation to the dropping cost of a barrel of oil.

There have been the 4 Bs. Blair, Boom, Bust, Brown. Time for a C. Clegg comes to mind. But, you just never know with these pols. There has never been one who did not preach about the dire situation the country is in and how, he, and only he, can get us out.
Nothing new since the Greeks, then.

I have that nagging feeling that, to be able to get the country out of the mess it is supposed to be in, first you have to get it into that mess.

Car sharing may save money but I also want to see my share of the road tax and the cost of my insurance premium coming down with it. I'm not paying the same tax and insurance when I'm using my car less!

As mentioned previously I am all for reducing dependance on the use of oil, but why do we have to contend with being rip off Britain all the time. Again oil has dropped but still the petrol companies and supermarkets keep prices high.

Of course the government are not bothered by this rip off as they see a greater share of money in their coffers (or a dilution of the duty percentage on petrol) Either way everybody other than the consumer is laughing.

We need somebody to stand up and ask the question of why prices are still high.

Oil prices droped to $110. I guess it wasnt Peak oil after all.....

News just in. GB is finally in recession. It has taken Brown just ten years at the helm and just over a year as captain of this sinking ship to achieve this. At least he is in the right place for his gold medal, another for Great Britain

Mayor Bloomberg is advocating the building of wind turbines atop public buildings and skyscrapers, plus the construction of massive farms out at sea, to provide the citizens of New York with power in the coming decades without bankrupting themselves with the spiralling costs of oil.
Here, the other day, one of those nimby aristos was seen on tv crying about the spoiling of his views if wind turbines were to be built on Dartmoor, or for that matter any other Moor or wasted space. In the face of such dedication, is it any wonder we are sliding down the tubes!!!!!

What I am waiting for, is for one of those people to come right out and say it. "So what if the poor people have to walk. We can afford oil at any price, as long as our view of ' natural beauty' is not spoiled." Which makes me wonder whether the French idea for getting rid of their aristos was such a bad thing!

Re: 175

What a good idea Lenny. Here goes:

A Twelve-Step Plan to End Oil Addiction (courtesy of The Oil Drum)

1. Stop deluding ourselves. The era of cheap, readily-available oil has ended. Prices may fluctuate, but the underlying trend is up, up, up. We have to get used to using less.

2. Demand that politicians take the issue seriously. Make it an election issue. Don't take 'we've got everything under control' as an answer.

3. Stop building new roads. They're a monumental waste of money, time and effort. They encourage, rather than ease, congestion, and besides, the growth in car travel that's used to justify them isn't going to happen anyway.

4. Divert that money and effort into measures that address the challenges of oil depletion and climate change.

5. Make a major investment in public transport. It needs to be better, faster, more comfortable, more regular, and more predictable. It needs to cater for everyone, not just peak-hour commuters — though they need a better service as well.

6. Make a major investment in broadband internet to allow more people to work from home, and change tax and business practices that discourage working from home. The more car trips we can avoid, the better.

7. Electrify transport where possible. New Zealand is well placed to use renewable electricity for transport. We should be electrifying commuter rail where it is not already electric, using light rail (trams) in cities, and looking at electrification of the main trunk line. On the other end of the scale, electric bikes and scooters can make a big difference in our cities. And electric cars show promise, though there's a lot of questions to be answered yet.

8. Don't use cars unless there's no alternative. Take the bus. Take the train. Switch to a scooter. Walk or cycle - both your wallet and your doctor will thank you.

9. Deal with other aspects of our oil dependence. Agriculture, for example, is highly dependent on oil. We're going to need to change the way we grow and distribute food. Let's get to work on that now, not wait until supermarket shelves start to empty.

10. Stockpile or manufacture vital products currently imported from overseas. When oil runs short, will that still be possible? Let's take stock now and work out what we may need to start stockpiling or making in New Zealand.

11. Think local. Ending our oil addiction isn't just up to central government, though it can play its part. Communities can work together to make themselves more resilient. Join or start a Transition Towns group in your local area.

12. Accept reality. The age of cheap oil is over. It's not coming back. As individuals and as a nation, we have to adapt.

This blog, which was started with hopes that people getting together, might, just might, get the extortionate prices of fuel down. Fact of the matter always was that there would be no way at all of the' grass roots' succeeding in that endeavour.

However, the blog has turned into dreamland. People exercising their vocabulary skills, or plainly just telling customers in say, Devon, where the best prices are to be had in Dundee, or Northern/Southern Ireland. Encouraging, if not actually useful. What is needed, is a couple of people, like that peak oil, or maybe Paul Hancyuk, who at times sound like they are reasoning persons, to get together and come up with the plan, to get prices down.

P.S Not the ' Arguist', he insults people.

Hi, just had to let you know for those in the area or visiting, Teco Extra in Dundee is 107.9 for unleaded, I think this must be the cheapest in the country!!

If you want cheap petrol in Northern Ireland avoid Maxol Garages. They are constantly the most expensive retailer in the country. When petrol was listed as 111.9 all over Belfast Maxol were charging 122.9 at our local garage. They should be avoided at all costs.

I have an idea which I'd love to try out and see if it would work.

We had the "Boycott The Pumps" campaign some time back, which I feel had limited success.

I have a theory of my own in respect of applying downward pressure on the price of fuel, but it needs us to group together to achieve.

If, within you own geographical area, everyone went to a single retailer (obviously one with the lowest price) other retailers in the are would have to move to encourage you back to their forecourt, by undercutting the price, after which you would 'reward' them by always buying from them, until someone else further cut the price, and so on...

Surely with the power of the internet we can do this?

Your thoughts...?


Roger

I'm all for lift shares and have signed up with a website to see if there is anyway I can save money from my 70 mile round trip a day but what is really galling is the time spent by the media and the public alike about prices going up but little comments about prices going down. As of today crude oil is down 19% of its recent high of $147 but diesel is only down by 3% and this is attributed to a supermarket price war. Why do we as consumers stand for this? The petrol companies and supermarkets are very responsive to putting prices up but not so to put them down.

Reading some other blogs they show that the US are starting to pass on these drops but not in the UK where where we seem to have a market led by Oligopolies.

Could the Arguist actually tell me exactly how a windfall tax would benefit me. There have been those before, but not even 2p reached me. Lots of hot air, but that was it. And no doubt, if one shoud be raised now, all there would be for either of us would be more hot air.
And please do not try the green route or the climate change. That will be proved to be even more bunk. Ask Peak Oil. He has an answer to everything. Calling me a dickhead is not an insult, you know. Unless you have never tried it upside down, you will not have seen the advantages of such a piece of kit.

re: 168

Please read the rest of the blog and what others have written before writing - I have seen so many people writing this that I am physically sick of seeing it. How do you suppose this will work, and what it will achieve? last I checked Shell and Esso were cheaper than supermarkets.

Why don't all drivers in Englad stop useing one of the big Petrol stations like Shell or BP untill they bring down there prices down to below £1pl.
the rest would do the same if we all do this it would not take long.

Let's blame Brown anyway. His jokes were not all that funny when he was in the Comedians in the 70's and they are not funny now. Also he has this thing about moving his jaw sideways when he is lying.

Haven't read the articles. Don't need to. They're probably all blaming Brown, and it is actually Market Forces thats caused the problem. You're not going to get a Company Windfall Tax from the Tories, are you, DickHeads ?

Having 3 people or more in your car won't have that much of an affect on MPG especially if it is diesel. You will still save in the end.

Anybody else noticed that the differential between the price of unleaded and diesel seems to have grown bigger. eg In my area(Cheshire) I notice that the difference is now anything between 9 pence and 15 pence a litre, diesel being the more expensive. Why ? It's time us diesel users made some noise.

Karen, Karen,
Things would be easy if yours were the only reasons not to carshare. We know, don't we, that the insurance companies would fall over themselves to settle any claim you may have, should you be a victim while either being a driver, or a sharer, during your trip to wherever. There are glitches to this. How would you go about finding a car going your way, or passengers if you were the driver? And, what about your status, if the person you give a lift to. or accept a lift from, is a rapist or an axe murderer? Would your policy cover you then? Or, would the pol who thought up the idea come running up with an open cheque book.

And the hell of it is, where was peak oil when we needed him????

i waited for a long time to say this and i know you might agree or not.

if you are going to sheffield and normally its 50 mpg for one person then you have 3 people in the car and you get 30 mpg does this make sence to pay for extra fuel to take a stranger for free ?

come on get a life and stop acting like a scab, the driver pays the fuel and you travelfr free stuff liftshare.

and if a company driver gives you a lift and he does not tel his works your not covered by the insurance. sucker.

well what can i say if the gm car company can make a car that runs on water and power your house and only produce water waste then what the hell is going on, buy a hydrogen cell of ebay and start the move.

or get one f those gm cars ? i see a lower cost of oil 122 lull then climb to 160+ in the 2009.

its all those oil holders who pull the strings.


start saving in your pocket not his or any one elses as it will get worse not better. its like a drug and your addicted.

re: 159

I am completely in agreement with you there. I just love unwinding on the weekend and going for a drive somewhere. Doesnt matter where, so long as it gets me away from Swindon for a few hours. I passed my test last year, and am still in the "honeymoon" stage with my car, and I dont see it ending anytime soon. It's the only time I get to drive, and I want to make it worth it, considering the amount of money I spilled out learning to drive. I dont drive during the week as work in the centre, and is a 10 min walk to work.

I dont care what anyone says, I am aware of the implications, and as soon as there is a decent infrastructure to change to a different type of powerplant, then I will.

You know what I am really glad that I have got my loved ones, knowledge and health.

Life isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Yes in life people have to work hard for what they want, but that is just life.

Sorry to say this but I still enjoy my Sunday drives.

"I don't live near work" ...............You give up your car, I'll keep mine....
"I have no- to share with" ...............You give up your car, I'll keep mine....
"I'm disabled" ...............You give up your car, I'll keep mine....
"No buses where I live" ...............You give up your car, I'll keep mine....
"I HAVE to do this, and this, etc...." ...........You give up your car, I'll keep mine....
"I'm BETTER than you" ...............You give up your car, I'll keep mine....

and so on......

Whiners.............................

Car sharing save money! I'd like to know who will save money by car sharing, the formula is simple:

Car sharing = Less fuel used = Less revenue to Government = More fuel taxes = More of your money = Worse off!

Tesco must look after their shareholders, and the board need their bonuses and perks. You cannot blame Tesco for looking after their own, after all, the MPs, speculators and city boys have been doing this for years. The dirty masses can eat cake.

Keep paying your taxes, the rest of the world needs our money.

Asda and morrisons have reduced their petrol priceswhereas Sainsburys and Tesco have said they will only "match prices locally" . In other words, they could do it but they are more interested int heir profits than their customers. Let us boycott both of them for both fuel and groceries even where they have "matched prices locally" and force them to drop the price across the country.
for anyone on Facebook, join the group "let's boycott Tesco and Sainsburys" and spread this quickly!

Re 152

When will the Mothership be coming back for you then?

Stop teasing we earthlings.

152.

lol. I gotta love your optimism. That would be awesome if that was reality, alas Humankind can barely send a working robot onto Mars, let alone arrange an infrastructure of pipes and drilling onto inhospitable planets in the solar system. then is the minor problem of returning several millions of gallons back to earth, providing it could be proved that other planets had life on them alone, let alone enough life to warrant millions of years of transforming from plantlife and marine life into the crude as we see it today.

If this happens, I will run around the world completely naked for charity. ;)

#151 Erm....... It's just been on the news!!!

Also to all you scare mongerers. Don't worry about peak oil! There are plenty more planets up there with plenty of oil!! We will find them!!!!!!!! :)