Avoid being a fool with fuel

Morrisons Petrol Station, Foss Island Road, York, which stocks bioethanol

As petrol goes through the £1-a-litre barrier, STEPHEN LEWIS looks at ways of cutting your fuel bills.

MOTORISTS are fuming after the cost of petrol rose past the £1-a-litre milestone.

 

It is the first time the average price of petrol and diesel has broken through the barrier, according to the AA. Describing it as a "new era for car fuel prices", the motoring organisation said runaway oil prices, coinciding with a fire at the Coryton refinery in Essex, were to blame.

According to the RAC, pump prices are not likely to fall any time soon.

"Global demand for oil is rising due to unprecedented economic expansion in India and China and US economic recovery," an RAC spokesman said.

Instead of just grumbling about the sky-high prices, however, why don't you do something to reduce the impact on your pocket?

Here, we look at three options...

 

1. Drive more carefully

The Gulf filling station at Flaxton, which sells Augogas

YOU can reduce the amount of petrol your car uses by 30 per cent if you drive smoothly and intelligently, says Adam Cracknell, of the RAC. "Avoid accelerating hard and braking hard," he said. "Those who do drive smoothly save 30 per cent of fuel consumption compared to those with a heavy right foot."

 

Drive carefully and your money goes further - and you help the environment by pumping out fewer emissions, so everybody wins.

Other driving tips to help your car get the most out of its fuel include:

* Make sure tyres are the right pressure. Tyres that are too soft use about two per cent more fuel than those at the right pressure because they cling to the road more.

 

* Change up through the gears quickly, so as to keep the engine revs down. The higher the revs, the more fuel the car gets through.

* Switch the engine off when it is safe to do so - and especially when you are stuck in traffic jams for more than a few minutes.

* Ration the air conditioning - it increases fuel use.

* Once you have started the car, drive off as soon as safely possible, so you don't sit there with the engine running. Drive gently until the engine has reached normal operating temperature.

* Shop around for your petrol. "Driving a short distance to the next garage can save several pence on fuel," Adam said.

 

2. Petrol or diesel too expensive? There are alternatives

Autogas

EAGLE-eyed motorists heading out of York towards Flaxton on the A64 may have spotted a sign reading "Autogas: 51.9p".

 

That is an eye-catching price for car fuel, particularly when unleaded has broken through the £1-a-litre barrier.

But what is Autogas? And can you put it in your car?

Autogas is liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG - and it makes an excellent car fuel, says Nikki Key, of Thirsk company Autogas 2000, which specialises in converting cars to run on the fuel.

It is half the price of petrol, and gives off very little carbon monoxide and very few noxious omissions so is environmentally friendly. "York has a real problem at the moment with congestion and air quality, so it is something York motorists should be looking at," says Nikki.

The fuel, which is a liquified form of a gas given off as a by-product or refining oil, also has a higher octane content than petrol and is cleaner - so it is kinder to your engine, and boosts performance at the same time.

The fuel is cheaper because duty is much lower than on petrol and diesel - proof of Autogas' environmental credentials. So if you resent the money you pay at the petrol pump ending up in the Chancellor's pockets, this could be the fuel for you.

You can't just fill your tank up with Autogas, however; you will need to have your engine modified. The good news is that most petrol-engined cars can be modified (diesel cars cannot). The bad news is that it will cost you.

Conversion will take between two to four and, depending on the make and size of your car, could cost anything from £1,000 to £1,800, plus VAT.

That sounds a lot. It is surprising, however, how quickly you could recoup the cost of having your car converted, says Nikki Key.

At current fuel prices, reckoning unleaded at about £1.03 a litre and Autogas at 51p, you would save £278.43 a year on fuel if you drive a 1.5-litre, 32mpg family saloon 5,000 miles a year. Drive it 10,000 miles a year and you'd save £556 a year.

Drive a larger or company car, and you stand to save a lot more. The savings for a two-litre saloon that does 28mpg and is driven 20,000 miles a year would be £1,272 a year - while somebody who owned a Range Rover which does 18mpg could save £1,978 a year if they drove 20,000 miles.

There is plenty of LPG around, so motorists needn't worry about it running out. And there is a rolling guarantee from the Chancellor to keep the duty low - so anyone who does get their car converted will be able to enjoy very cheap fuel for at least three years, and probably a lot longer, says Nikki.

You don't need to go all the way to Thirsk to get your car converted, either. Steve Gledall, who runs a car repair shop at Elvington, can do the conversions as well - phone 01904 608708 for more details.

A number of forecourts in this region sell Autogas. Full details are available from the Autogas 2000 website - www.autogas.co.uk Here are a few:

* Langford Garage, Gate Helmsley * Coastways service Station, A64 at Flaxton * B&M Harland, Malton Road, Pickering * JB Motors, Wentworth Street, Malton * BP, A64 Bilbrough Top * Kirkburn Service Station, near Driffield

Bioethanol

THE petrol pumps at the new Morrison's supermarket in Foss Islands Road, York, sell Bioethanol as well as unleaded and diesel. The pump price is 90.9p at the moment - a saving of about 10p a litre.

 

Bioethanol is a sustainable fuel made from agricultural crops including sugar cane, sugar beet and various grains. It can be mixed with petrol in various ratios to make car fuel.

The bioethanol on sale at Morrison's is Bioethanol E85, which is 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent petrol - and hence is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative for cars which run on petrol (though not diesel).

You will need to convert your car to run on it, however - you can't just fill your tank. Gloucestershire-based Green Fuels offers a special Bi-fuel Manager system which plugs into your car's fuel injectors to enable it to run on E85. The system costs between £395 and £495, depending on car size. It can be sent by post, and is comparatively easy to install, the company insists. Phone Green Fuels on 01453 828003 to find out more.

 

3. Use your car less

THERE are lots of ways in which many of us could use our cars less, says York Green Party leader Coun Andy D'Agorne.

 

"There are people who depend on their car - whose work and lifestyle are based around their car," he admits. "But there are many of us who could make changes. I think if people actually thought about it, most could use their cars less than they do."

Car sharing is one option, say Coun D'Agorne. York has a website - www.carshareyork.com - that brings together people who want to share car journeys. "It helps you to identify somebody who is making a similar journey to you on a regular basis," he says. "If you are sharing your journey, you can take it in turns driving, which means the other person can relax a bit more on the way to work, and you're halving your fuel cost.

"There is a bit of inconvenience, because you have to co-ordinate what time you're travelling, but that's no different to co-ordinating the time you drop children off at school. The other benefit is that it will help reduce congestion on York's streets."

Other options include ditching your car - for some journeys at least.

Even a motoring organisation such as the RAC admits many of us use our cars for journeys that are not essential. "If you only drive when you really need to, you will save money," says Adam Cracknell, of the RAC.

In a small city such as York, points out Andy D'Agorne, it is often quite possible to get around on foot or by bike.

He himself rides or walks to work at York College every day - and there are real benefits to both, he says.

"A 20-minute walk morning and evening is going to give you the chance to get a bit of fresh air, and to clear your thoughts. You might even meet some people you would never meet otherwise. I quite often have conversations with people on New Walk. It is good for social cohesion!"

Plus good for congestion and air quality in our crowded city, it goes without saying.

All of the above is true of cycling, too, Coun D'Agorne says - except that you get there a bit quicker.

Yes, he admits, cycling or walking are not as convenient as jumping in your car. But at least you won't be faced with a desperate search for somewhere to park - and you won't get stuck in traffic lights on Blossom Street or at Walmgate Bar.

Public transport is another option. Bus and train prices might rise because of the increase in petrol prices, but certainly buses are still likely to remain cheaper than using your own car. And the more people who use buses, the less congested our streets will be so the better and more efficient the bus services will be, Coun D'Agorne points out.

You only have to look at the number of people on a bus at peak times to realise what a difference they make to traffic levels on the streets. "If you put all those people in their own cars, or even two in every car, you can imagine what the roads would be like."

Source: Yorkshire Post