FEATURE CAR PARK MANAGEMENT
Fuel
Burning money… the cost of running a car is rising.
for thought
T
THE GOVERNMENT’S FISCAL MEASURES ARE NOT HELPING HARD-PRESSED PARKING OPERATORS. JOHN OSBORNE EXAMINES THE EFFECT OF THE RECENT BUDGET ON THE INDUSTRY
he introduction of the congestion charge in London in February 2003 was blamed for the downturn in passing trade and for effectively killing off many small businesses. Now it seems the
government is determined to make life harder for motorists – and for an industry which believes that serving them is actually helping the economy. Te rise in fuel duty has attracted the most
vehement comments, especially from two of the UK’s largest motoring organisations. Te AA said (pre April Budget) that ‘staging the fuel duty increase will avoid a big hit in an April Fuel’s Day fiasco’, but added that ‘a one penny increase will still hit motorists hard, with record prices at the pumps. Perhaps the thought of 32 million fuming drivers and voters influenced government thinking?’ Te organisation added: ‘Te AA will examine closely any phased introduction of further fuel
Increases in fuel duty are likely to irritate motorists, according to industry experts.
duty increases of one penny in October and the remainder in January. Each one penny increase is 50 pence a tank and £2.12 a month for a family with two cars – an increase that is higher than the average increase in council tax for 2010-11(£1.56). ‘If pump prices continue to increase, the Treasury should rethink its proposals.’
Gradual price hike
According to the AA, drivers’ relief at the Chancellor ‘not raising fuel duty by three pence on April Fool’s Day will be short-lived if prices continue to rise.’ When the Budget was announced the AA said that the immediate rise of one penny per litre would cost 50 pence a tank more to fill up. ‘Had the inflation one penny increase gone ahead, it would have added £1.50 to the typical cost of refilling a petrol or diesel car, or £37.50 a year. For a family with two petrol cars, that alone would have been four times the average increase in council tax for this coming year’, says Professor Edmund King, the AA president. He explained that the average increase in council tax will be around 36 pence a week, or £18.72 a year. Adrian Tink, RAC motoring strategist, was also
dismayed by the rise in fuel duty. He said that the duty on fuel is likely to rise three times in the next 10 months. Tink added: ‘By this time next year, fuel duty will have risen by three pence. At that point we will each be paying just over 59 pence per litre in
28 MAY 2010
www.britishparking.co.uk
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