Websites help SMEs beat petrol price hikes |
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| Finance - Features | |
| Tuesday, 22 January 2008 | |
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Consistent petrol price increases and conflicting predictions on whether they are here to stay is making it difficult for SMEs to forward plan. If the global demand from emerging countries such as China and India is anything to go by, UK businesses will have no choice but to pay more at the bowser. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) predicts fuel increases will be a continual burden for business owners in 2008 “SMEs should forward plan by thinking about how the business can reduce the usage of their vehicles and restrict it to essential usage,” the FSB said. This would cut the cost down and make businesses think about how they can become more efficient through smarter working objectives.” The FSB suggests working at home, encouraging the use of transport alternatives such as cycling, and engaging with local transport operators to provide subsidised travel, as ways of cutting down the use of petrol. In a recent FSB survey of 4,000 businesses, 69 per cent of owners said they could not reduce their vehicle usage. This is the case for Diana Kendall, who runs her own taxi and courier business in Surrey. She said as fuel made up for a large proportion of her costs, it was difficult for the business to withstand. “I have calculated that petrol has gone up over 15% in the last six months,” Kendall said. “Some taxi and courier contracts last for three years, so you can’t change them if petrol increases dramatically.” Although Kendall can’t escape the price of fuel, she said she encouraged her staff to conserve the finite resource. “We try and avoid dead mileage as much as possible, but we have always done that. Drivers will only pick up petrol at places that have cheaper fuel.” “Some stations are taking advantage of the situation – we saw one on the motorway selling it (diesel) for £1.19 a litre,” she added. Kendall has 60 self-employed drivers working for her businesses and is fortunate she hasn’t yet had to downsize. The FSB said businesses had to decide whether to pass on the mounting cost to its customers, as larger businesses can incur the cost far easier than a small business which is likely to lose a customer by passing on the cost. “The high petrol costs mean that small businesses engage less with customers on a face-to-face basis, which can be costly, and they will interact more via telephone, Internet or by other electronic means,” the FSB said. Ever since unleaded petrol hit the £1 a litre mark, comparison websites such as Petrolprice.com have been inundated with hits. Currently two million money-conscious consumers look to Petrolprice.com to find out what fuel station in their area is the cheapest. Petrolprice.com spokesperson Louise Doherty said since petrol prices started to peak in September last year, the number of site users had dramatically increased. “The cost of fuel is very important to everyone so they really want to get updated information on fuel prices around the country in order to save money,” Doherty said. Although Chelsea is the most expensive area to purchase fuel in the country, Doherty said there wasn’t a specific region in the UK with noticeably cheaper petrol prices. “The price of petrol varies and it all comes down to how many chain outlets there are in one place as well as the number of petrol stations in a particular area. The price can also come down to how long fuel is kept in the tank.” According to Doherty, fuel stations on busy thoroughfares and motorways were typically more costly than other petrol outlets. To give consumers the opportunity to vent their opinions on current issues related to petrol and motor transport, Petrolprice.com has a blog that is frequently updated with pertinent topics. “The most recent blog on the arrival of £5 a gallon diesel got 1,800 comments on the first day,” Doherty said. There are very different comments – some people are blaming the government on the amount of tax that comes from fuel and others are environmentally minded and talk about alternatives to using petrol.” Although there are conflicting views on the blog, Doherty said overall, consumers were “fed up” with the rise in petrol prices. Other useful websites have sprung up to help firms and their staff beat the price at the pump:
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Two different websites www.water4cars.co.uk and www.runyourcarwithwater.co.uk claim the technology is available, and can easily Convert Your Car to Run on Water and gas to save over 40% on fuel costs! Is it time for Top Gear TV program or the government to investigate HHO car options or to have a live experiment to check whether it works or not.