Knock-on effects of increasing petrol price

I‘m enough of a researcher to remember that where there used to be one robot en-route to work, there are now nine! Average journey time was 22 minutes and is now 45 - my longest recorded time to work now sits at over two hours, for a 19 km journey!

So, like many others, I clearly have way too much time to sit in traffic and mull over the effect of the increasing petrol price. As I look around in the queues, I'm convinced I see more cars with an extra passenger or two than I used to. Am I deluding myself, or does the traffic appear slightly less bad?

Logic

Surely logic says that higher petrol prices must be reducing the number of cars and taxis on the roads and will therefore have a positive effect on the traffic flow?

Working at Millward Brown, a major global market research company, I took the opportunity of asking a sample of car drivers and taxi travellers about any behaviour changes they may have undergone as a result of the ever-increasing petrol price.

The survey results suggest that my hypothesis was at least partially correct. Close to a fifth of car drivers claimed that they now occasionally travel with other people in a car pool arrangement and 6% claimed they are now making more use of public transport. In addition, over 9% claimed they had postponed a long trip or holiday because of the high petrol price. While the extent to which the petrol price is having this effect, as opposed to every other price increase is a moot point, the fact remains that many drivers report that the petrol price has directly changed their behaviour.

Of course, this still leaves the majority of drivers for whom nothing has changed, and this has to be the brutal reality for much of the working population for whom petrol is an essential, if grudge, purchase.

Remarkably well

Unfortunately for the majority, other things have to be sacrificed before petrol, and in many cases this will manifest itself in reducing frequency of purchase and buying on special. Perhaps strangely, it is also recognised that consumers will still indulge themselves occasionally, as chocolate and cosmetic sales hold up remarkably well in recessions.

When probing a little deeper, drivers' attitudes appear to be rather resigned about the petrol price and its likelihood to continue to rise over the course of the year. They are also fairly unanimous in their belief that the Government should reduce levies and taxes to make petrol more affordable. Over three quarters of drivers claim that they have had to change their lifestyle as a direct result of high petrol prices. So fairly universal discontent, and blame for the Government, but stoic resignation, seem to be the order of the day!

Finally, for those who don't use a car but typically travel by taxi, the predominant claim is that they are generally travelling less, and specifically going to the shops less frequently. Passengers have observed that this is directly ascribed to significant increases in taxi fares, but is entirely consistent with typical behaviour seen in tough times where, more often than not, while claimed usage stays much the same, frequency of usage drops.

Using trains more

Interestingly and also presumably reducing congestion, more than a fifth of taxi passengers claimed they are using the trains more than they have in the past.

So, when I travel home alone in the car tonight, cocooned in my world, I can reflect on some hard evidence that it could be worse! The petrol price might be an increasing nightmare, but I've resolved I'll do my bit in future by practicing some of the tips I read about recently to save petrol, namely, “turn off the air con, ensure the tyre pressures are correct, get rid of the dead weight in the boot and drive smoothly”.

And besides, every cloud has a silver lining. A recent study at the University of Alabama suggests that traffic levels in the USA have fallen 2.1% in the first four months of this year due to the shift to smaller, slower moving cars, and also that 12 000 fewer people will die in traffic accidents this year! Oh, and another study suggests that the reduced pollution will save 2200 respiratory related deaths, and my personal favorite, that less eating out, and more cycling and walking would lead to a 10% drop in obesity!

At least one thing is clear: there are plenty of other bored people sitting in cars pondering the knock on effects of the petrol price increases!