‘It feels like a tipping point’: drivers on the soaring petrol and diesel prices
Prices at the pump continue to climb, with the average cost of a litre of petrol hitting 191.5p on Sunday, while diesel reached 199.0p.
The soaring costs, which have triggered protests by motorists in parts of England and Wales are having serious impacts on incomes, particularly of those living in poorly connected areas.
Here, five people discuss how fuel costs are affecting them.
Twice a week, David Francis, 59, drives between his home in Cornwall and the college in London where he is an assistant principal. Whereas last November the commute used to cost him about £540 in petrol monthly, it has shot up to £770. Along with other rising bills, Francis says he is worried for the future.
“I am increasingly concerned that soon we [will] hit a point where we can no longer cope. And then what? If I am forced to give up my job in London, how will we generate adequate income to live?” He explains that finding employment closer to home is challenging. Francis’s wife works three different jobs to cope with rising costs, while he tutors online three times a week after work.
Francis, who drives to London on Sunday evening and returns to Cornwall on Thursdays, has also considered coming home less, but worries about the impact on his family, especially his 13-year-old son. “Even now, on a Sunday night he’s going: ‘Oh Dad, don’t go.’ He already struggles with it.” The price of railway season tickets, meanwhile, means “coming by train isn’t an option”.
The assistant principal, who earns “decent money”, says he has never been in this situation before. “I’ve worked as a senior manager for 20 years and never have I faced a financial environment like this. You just wonder, what the hell is going on?”
Richard, 45, a full-time NHS healthcare
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