Tuesday, December 8, 2009

pump prices in melbourne



i noticed that pump prices in melbourne follow a certain pattern that is unique to australia. in singapore, pump prices vary, but not day to day; in singapore, when the world's crude oil price goes up, after a while, this increase will be reflected in a higher pump price, with an announcement made of the new price. the adjusted price will remain the same for a period of time unless there are marked fluctuations in the prices of crude.




in melbourne, australia, the price can be, say, aus$1.13/litre one minute and then aus$1.16, the next on the same day. prices are usually lowest on tuesdays and wednesday mornings. so, it is not surprising to see queues of cars waiting to top up at petrol kiosks on these two days. prices tend to be higher on fridays, weekends and public holidays.





unlike singapore, prices are not standard: they not only vary from day to day, they vary from station to station and they vary from one suburb to another. in the rural and outlying areas, where petrol stations are few and far in between, you will definitely have to pay more for your fuel. in singapore, whether you fill up at changi village or pasir panjang, you pay the same price for the same grade of petrol.



another trend that i have observed in melbourne is the switch to cars using diesel instead of the conventional unleaded or leaded petrol. my friend chris who drove me to the yarra wineries drives a diesel powered holden captiva.

4 comments:

PChew said...

In Orange County, California petrol pump prices also vary not only from suburb to suburb but also within the same city.

Victor said...

>prices are usually lowest on tuesdays and wednesday mornings. so, it is not surprising to see queues of cars waiting to top up at petrol kiosks on these two days.

It is comforting to know that Singaporeans are not the only kiasu people who queue up for cheap petrol like the recent Shell promotion.

yg said...

mr chew, in our case, the difference in prices between our neighbour and ours is enough to make some people go through all the inconveniences just to get a quarter tank of petrol.

yg said...

victor, the queue is not like the 2-km long one i saw along yio chu kang road when shell offered petrol at $1 a litre. the queue there is 2 or 3 cars waiting at one pump.