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'It's astronomical, it's hard for people to get to work': Drivers' fears as fuel prices soar 14 minutes ago Clodagh Rice, Business correspondent and Niall Glynn, BBC News NI BBC Reuben McAteer, who is retired, says he is using his car less because of rising fuel prices As the price of diesel hits more than £2 per litre at some of Northern Ireland's forecourts and with petrol prices also soaring, motorists have been telling BBC News NI how it is changing their driving habits. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has caused disruptions around critical shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz causing the price of wholesale fuel to continue to rise. As prices at the pump reach a four year high, the NI Consumer Council says consumers are being "disproportionately" affected.
It said last week petrol prices were at their highest level since September 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier that year and that diesel prices are "heading that way too". At a forecourt in Belfast, Reuben McAteer, who is retired, said it costs about £70 to fill up his car. "My wife is also on her pension, and we have to cut down on this, that and the other," he said.
"It makes me use the car less, I only go out now every couple of days to get bits and pieces.". Irene McClimonds with her dog Ozzie Irene McClimonds said she has noticed prices going up. "It's astronomical, especially petrol.
It's hard for people to get to work," she said. "I wish things would come down, but it's just so hard to live nowadays and even have a car and run it. "I'm going to change to a smaller car because it costs a lot more money to fill up this one." Lana Black has a long commute for her job Lana Black commutes across the country for her job.
"I'm filling up almost every day with my job - it's crazy with the prices just going up," she said. "I'm trying to go to big supermarkets because they're cheaper, but the commute is unavoidable." Sean Donnelly swapped to a hybrid car Sean Donnelly said petrol prices are "absolutely outrageous". "It's far too dear," he said.
"We're struggling every week and shopping around for the best price. "I've changed a car to hybrid to try and help, it is hitting everybody in the pocket, heating oil and everything." Michelle Kelly, head of transport policy at the NI Consumer Council, said their fuel price checker last week showed that petrol has increased by on average 43p and diesel by 53p since the end of February of this year. "In reality for consumers, for a 40-litre fill-up they're effectively paying £16 more for petrol and £21 for diesel, so it's really impacting on their cost of living," she said.
"We're seeing oil prices really consistently stay above $100 and until we see them fall quite significantly and stabilise at that fall we won't see any difference in the short-term unfortunately." Michelle Kelly said She encouraged consumers to shop around as there could be differences in prices of up to 20p per litre at different forecourts and also to look into the possibility of using public transport. Kelly said that Northern Ireland consumers were particularly vulnerable to rising fuel prices. "We're a more rural population and more reliant on their car - recent Consumer Council research showed that around 71% of consumers [in Northern Ireland] were reliant on their car for their main mode of transport," she said.
Fuel protests possible Meanwhile, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported that the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has not ruled out further fuel protests. The comments come after the IRHA met with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris in Dublin on Tuesday, where they discussed potential fuel supports in October's Budget.
Source: BBC
