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$6.40 Per Gallon For Gas - Rising Gas Prices In Australia Affect Business Owners. Where Will It Stop?

by Yvonne Russell on May 23rd, 2008

HomeBizNotes.com

How would you like to pay $6.40 per gallon for gas? Well, that’s what we pay in Australia.

There are a few things different about gas in Australia compared with the US. For a start it’s not called gas. It’s petrol. We fill up at the petrol station, also known as the garage.

The thing that’s the same though is that the price is rapidly going up, and up and up. It’s a major talking point and a very real concern. Some large supermarkets offer discount fuel vouchers. When you buy $30 worth of goods, you get 4c off per liter at the pump. The petrol stations honoring this are owned by the supermarkets, so they can’t lose.

Australians buy petrol by the liter. There are roughly 4 liters to a gallon. Today’s local petrol price here was $1.50 per liter. In the capital cities it was reported at $1.60 per liter. That makes it a whopping $6.40 per gallon.

In balance with the Australian wage, this is very expensive, and is hitting families and businesses hard. Petrol affects goods and services as well as leisure.

How About You?
How are gas/petrol prices affecting you and your home business? Where will it stop? I often wonder how much serious large scale research is going into trialling alternative energy sources to power vehicles. This is an urgent issue. How long will it take to become mainstream?

© Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com

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12 opinions for $6.40 Per Gallon For Gas - Rising Gas Prices In Australia Affect Business Owners. Where Will It Stop?

  • Debbie Yost
    May 23, 2008 at 9:46 am

    It’s reaching $4.00 here in Kansas (USA) Being in the midwest, we are lower than some of the more metropolitan areas on the coasts, but it is still outragous. It’s affecting the costs of all kinds of services and wares (like groceries) because it costs more to deliver items. We traded in our Honda Pilot for a Honda Accord, but I still have to drive a minivan because I have 3 children, two in carseats and they just won’t all fit.

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  • Yvonne Russell
    May 23, 2008 at 11:13 pm

    Hi Debbie
    You have a way to go to catch up to us in Australia, but that’s just crazy, given the price it was even a year ago.

    I’ve wondered if it would impact on the cars people bought, but as you indicate, sometimes practicalities dictate the choice.

    Thanks for sharing your story.

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  • Paul
    Jun 25, 2008 at 8:25 am

    Well here in the UK it is the equivalent of $9.50 for a gallon of petrol. Extortionate.

    Luckily in the UK, we all tend to drive cars less than 2.0l engine size and get upwards of 35 - 40mpg.

    Its about time those in the USA realised just how much of the worlds oil they use, and the total lack of respect for it. All cruising at 20mpg in 5.0l SUV’s. USA has 5% of the worlds population, uses 25% of all oil.

  • Joe Clay
    Jul 12, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    To be fair, we have far greater distances to drive in the US. It would take me about as much time to drive from the bottom of England to Scotland as it would take me to drive from the tip of my state (florida) to the top of it. If we’re talking about Ireland it would take me about as long from where I live in Florida, to the top. I live in Tampa, which is about in the middle of the state on the Gulf coast. Florida is just a little shorter than the trip from Spain to Belgium.

    If we’re talking about a midwestern state, like where Debbie lives, a trip to the grocer might almost be 1/4 to 1/2 a trip across Ireland.

    I’m not just an ignorant American, either. I have been to Europe. You guys are set up a lot closer to things, even in the countryside.

    Paris is a huge city. My city is nearly as large, but it doesn’t even have a 10th of the amount of buildings and businesses in the area. In Paris you can find a grocer in every neighborhood. Here, you might have to travel 5 miles until you find one. I live in what is considered a big city and I still can’t walk to get to things you need (even without the damned humidity and 99°F weather). I agree that there is rampant stupidity about gasoline use here. Many people simply don’t care. I see Hummers with only a driver daily. But please don’t label all of us as stupid, I hate SUVs (they block my view and are generally driven by idiots that don’t pay attention and pose a danger to car drivers like me).

    Also, the reason why our oil is cheaper is because we use so much of it. SUVs don’t usually even get 20mpg by the way.

    It would be nice to live in the UK. You have it much nicer, trust me. It’s cooler there and your taxes actually pay for something.

  • Mary Emma Allen
    Jul 13, 2008 at 6:44 pm

    Thanks, Paul and Joe, for stopping by and explaining the situations where each of you live. I can see there are pros and cons to both areas of the world. We each have somewhat different situations to deal with and have to learn to make some changes in our lifestyles.

    People who are caught in this crunch with the larger cars often can’t easily trade them in quickly. Often, too, there’s a reason someone is driving a larger car, SUV or truck. My husband and I are alive because we were riding in a larger car when hit head on by a triple semi several years ago. We suffered severe injuries, but we lived. We’ve been told a smaller car would have gone right underneath and had the top sheared off.

    Also, as Debbie explains in the comment above, families with a number of children don’t have a choice when they have a number of children are required by law to use car seats and seat belts.

  • Paul
    Oct 27, 2008 at 10:17 pm

    I’m moving to Melbourne in January from the US. Why? Even given the rates we all pay for basic necessities, the job market where I live has gotten so rough that I have no choice but to accept a job in Australia. It will mean leaving my family for 6 to 12 months, but I’ll have a job that will pay enough to move them all by the end of 2009.

    So, fuel being that much doesn’t worry me. More important is housing and employment. In all seriousness, look at wages and lifestyle in Australia and the US and right now Australia feels right.

  • Alyssa
    Nov 2, 2008 at 10:02 pm

    gas in oregon is only 2.28 per gallon!!! its awsome cuz its my 1st year driving

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