IN WHAT could be a slight economic boost for Leeton heading into the Christmas period, Griffith motorists have been urged to fuel up in town thanks to a widening price discrepancy.
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The cost of petrol has again caused debate, with Leeton shire residents saving plenty at the bowser.
One Griffith motorist looked into the numbers and found it would be a good idea for residents to travel to Leeton to fuel up as they would save almost 20 cents per litre before any discounts.
One Leeton petrol station was recently charging $114.9 for a litre of unleaded fuel.
That was before the eight-cent discount that was also available.
Leeton's becoming the savings capital of the Riverina and MIA. When I filled up there It was a saving of like $3 to $4 for a $50 tank.
- Griffith motorist Brad George
When compared to the same company’s petrol station in Griffith, unleaded petrol was being charged at $133.9 per litre before the four-cent discount came into play.
Griffith motorist Brad George has made the trek from Griffith to Albury “hundreds of times” before and never seen the disparity like there is now.
After seeing the difference in price, he decided to stop in Leeton and fill up his tank.
“I'm not even upset, just confused,” Mr George said.
“I left Albury recently and it was $1.25 which is fair, then I got a huge shock when I saw the prices here.
“A servo in Narrandera you have $1.35, you go five kilometres out and you see a little dusty old servo and it's 15 to 20 cents cheaper.
“You get to Leeton and you save again.
“You come back to Griffith and it shoots back up.
“The fluctuation between Leeton and Griffith is just ridiculous.”
He said he spoke to a worker at one of the petrol stations in Leeton and the staff member said it was the “new independent keeping them honest”.
“We've got an independent over here, why aren't we doing prices like that?” Mr George said.
“You see a little difference what with spikes and all, but never 30 cents.”
He said he’d even considered driving to Leeton on the weekend for a shop and fill up as the prices were that good.
“Leeton's becoming the savings capital of the Riverina and MIA,” Mr George said.
“When I filled up there It was a saving of like $3 to $4 for a $50 tank.”
“They (the Leeton service station) wasn’t flat out either on a Saturday evening when I pulled up as well.
“You can drive to Leeton, do a shop, fill up a tank and save some money.”
While there has always been room for fluctuation Mr George couldn’t understand why the gap had gotten so wide between the neighbouring towns.
“Between Leeton and Griffith why can't the prices have a little more parity?” he said.
“You would dare say if it was 150 kilometres, that's fine, but when there's 30 cents difference when discounts are included for a 40 minute trip, it’s just staggering.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommends motorists shop around where possible to have access to the best fuel prices. For more information visit www.accc.gov.au.