Fluctuating petrol price sees motorists shrug at latest drop

For Uber Eats driver Thembeka Dube, the R2.06/l petrol price decrease will allow him to do more trips on a tank, saving him a little on costs and time.

“I will save a little money,” said Dube, who has been driving his scooter for the past three years.

Petrol attendant Johanna Nxala, 28, said due to the frequent fluctuations in the petrol price, motorists seldom ask her how much it costs to fill up.

“They are no longer checking, they just fill the fuel because they have to drive,” she said.

Angela Mage, 39, from Fordsburg, said the price drop did not really help her household budget.

“It may have decreased now but next month it might increase again, so it doesn’t make a difference,” she said.

Referring to the fuel price’s knock-on impact on the price of goods, she said: “The petrol price really affects our pockets. You adjust your budget this month and in the next month the price of basic necessities increases again.”

Steve Copham didn’t know the price of petrol had dropped, saying he had stopped paying attention.

“I no longer see change in the increasing and dropping of the petrol price, it is what it is. You’ve got pay for it for you to drive,” he said.

Marius Black works at a towing service in Johannesburg and spends the day driving across the city. On a single day he spends about R300 on petrol.

“We drive around a lot, obviously it benefits us if petrol goes down because we use a lot of petrol every single day. We are glad that it went down.”

He said with the tight economy, he tried to save on almost every item. “It is tough times. While it is not that much of a drop, it will help.” 

CJ van Wyk was also frustrated by the price fluctuation.

“Each time they put the diesel or petrol down, just watch the following month and you will see — they are going to put it up again,” he said.

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