Canterbury petrol prices one of highest

By James Green
 
MOTORISTS in Canterbury are currently paying one of the UK’s highest petrol prices, with the average price of unleaded in the City costing £1.37 per litre.

Recent times have seen petrol soar to a record £6 per gallon and if you fill up at the pumps in Canterbury you are likely to pay more than those living in much larger cities such as Edinburgh, York and Cardiff.

Canterbury’s reputation for being home to thousands of students, with a number of those owning cars, poses questions of how they can afford to drive in the current economic climate.

CCCU sport & exercise science student David Buckley uses his Vauxhall Corsa on average once a week when in the City, but when at home in South-East London he claims to use it more often.

“For me, the cost of petrol is ridiculous. When I’m at home it’s not so bad because I don’t have to spend money on the cost of living, so I can afford more petrol when I’m in London.”

The 18-year-old claims it to be a different story when in Canterbury though, saying that with all the costs that go with university life it is hard to find the money for petrol.

Taken by James Green

“When I’m in Canterbury I’ll end up scraping £5 or £10 and fill up using that, but only if I have to. Canterbury is a small City though and quite easy to walk around so I don't mind it too much."

David’s expenditure will soon have to increase however, as his Parents have moved to Norwich.

“I’m going to have to pay out even more money for petrol now, which will make my budget for living even smaller. There’s the option of using the train but after I checked the prices it would work out to be even more expensive.”

Fuel Company Shell reported a 41 per cent profit for January, February and March and the Dutch group are on course to break their profit record this year. It is unbelievable to most people how Shell and other members of the fuel industry can continue to generate huge profits year on year but the price of petrol continues to increase.