The price of fuel in Maitland has changed significantly for the better in the past six months, but there’s still room for improvement.
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In mid-2015, service stations in Maitland were reportedly selling unleaded petrol for as much as 30c/l more than their counterparts in Newcastle.
But last week, motorists in Maitland could buy unleaded petrol for as little as 98c/l, while those in Newcastle were paying an average of 9c/l more for the same product.
It prompted NRMA boss Kyle Loades to say that Maitland was becoming the model for major regional towns when it comes to low fuel prices.
The spotlight shone brighter on the issue after questions from the Mercury prompted the NRMA to separate Maitland from the Newcastle category in the weekly price watch data last August. It led to Maitland being given its own place in he rankings.
The move gave Maitland motorists a more accurate picture of fuel prices and gave people more power to show their dissatisfaction by taking their money to spend at cheaper outlets.
Since then, competition has increased among service station operators, who appear to have realised that it’s better to do a lot more trade at a slightly lower profit than the other way around.
News of the drop in Maitland’s petrol prices would come as a relief for many motorists, but we are still paying too much.
According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the average price of MOPS95 Petrol (the key benchmark for unleaded petrol prices in Australia) was 41.1c/l for the week ending February 5.
That week, Maitland had the second cheapest average fuel price in the state at 104.1c/l.
The benchmark doesn’t include taxes and shipping costs, but it shows what the product is worth compared with what we pay at the pump.
