ONLY three days into the government’s two-year fuel price reporting trial and people are already seeing red.
Springfield’s Nick Rose said he had downloaded a bunch of apps supposedly working with the new fuel price data but none had up to date information.
“I saw what the government was doing and thought I’d download some apps to see the best prices,” he said.
The first app he downloaded showed only Caltex fuel stations, the second had prices from four days ago and another wasn’t much better.
“It won’t drive prices down unless they’re in real time.”
Mr Rose said the fuel “rip off” would only be stopped with better reporting.
He said if one servo could sell fuel at $1.20 how could one down the road be $1.50?
Yesterday the best fuel prices were found at Oz Fuel Yamanto at 121.7 and 123.5 at Metro Petroleum on Brisbane St, West Ipswich.
When the QT downloaded a few fuel price apps the RACQ one seemed to be the most up to date, with prices updated only a few hours before.
The RACQ said they have been busy collecting and verifying data for their new Fair Fuel Price app as more than 1000 servos have signed up to share their fuel prices.
RACQ Spokeswoman Lucinda Ross said as soon as all the data was made available the RACQ was putting it into the app.
“We’re very happy to have almost all the data. It will get better and better as the days go by,” Mr Ross said.
“We’re very confident in the data.”
Around 1300 of Queensland’s 1446 servos had signed up to share their prices on Monday, but some operators are still working to get systems in place.
The prices are being made available free under the government’s two-year fuel price reporting trial, where all Queensland fuel retailers have to lodge their up to-date fuel prices within half-an-hour of them changing at the bowser.
Fuel prices will then be made available free to existing apps, as well as any innovators interested in entering the market.
Retailers will have three months grace to get their processes right, with fines of up to $13,000 to be handed out by Easter next year if they don’t update fuel prices accurately and on time.
RACQ Head of Public Policy Rebecca Michael said the initiative would help put the power back in the hands of motorists and allow them to reward those retailers who offered them the best deal.
“Our members ask for fuel price information and advice more than any other subject and we know Queensland motorists pay some of the highest petrol prices in the country,” Dr Michael said.
“That’s why we’ve lobbied so hard to get them access to the latest fuel prices at all retailers not just those who choose to give us their data.
“We know lower fuel prices start with increased competition and this change will offer greater transparency for motorists.”
extracted from Queensland Times