Motoring organisation the AA says the narrowing gap between rural and urban fuel prices has exposed the true extent of the “rip off” on forecourts.
A “dramatic improvement” in the pence per lire discrepancies between towns in many rural and coastal areas contributed to a general fall in what is being charged at the pumps.
The AA’s latest report shows the price of petrol has dropped to February 2011 levels, with the average cost in the UK having fallen by 0.83p a litre, from 130.46p in the middle of January to 129.63p now.
In November, the cheapest petrol in rural areas was 6p a litre more than neighbouring towns, but the gap was closing to 2p or 3p. The AA intended to ask competition watchdogs to recommend action to protect drivers and businesses from a return to the 5p and 6p a litre pump price penalty for living in the wrong town.
Edmund King, AA president, said: “The change confirms the extent of the rip-off and what was a fuel retailers’ toll for motorists coming on to their forecourts. Competition authorities need to consider a trigger where, if most supermarkets and retailers in a small town charge the same price which is 4p or more higher than a neighbouring town, that is flagged up to the watchdog who asks retailers why this is happening. It is time for pump prices in small rural and coastal towns to be put to ‘reset’.”
Remote Scottish areas have the UK’s highest fuel prices, although island motorists have benefited from a 5p-a-litre Treasury discount since 2012, which could soon be extended to some mainland communities.
Angus MacNeil, Western Isles SNP MP, said: “Any decrease in fuel to drivers in rural areas is welcome, though we are still facing a postcode lottery. The UK Government is relying on the EU Commission to include additional rural areas in a duty discount scheme, but the UK Government needs to cut the eye-watering level of tax that we pay at the pump. In rural areas where having a car is a necessity, not a luxury, the cost of fuel is hitting families and businesses. We should be reaping the benefits of offshore oil.