Fuel price rises: Shoppers will end up paying at the tills, say haulage industry workers
Workers in the haulage industry have said that increasing fuel prices will continue to impact consumers as prices continue to rise.
Taxi drivers meanwhile have said they may be forced to leave the industry, as the increases in the price of fuel are making the industry infeasible.
It comes as the average cost of filling a typical family car with petrol has exceeded £100 for the first time.
Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a record 182.3p and diesel increased to 188.1p on Wednesday.
Andy Rowton, transport manager at Brogan Carl J, a trucking company in Cannock, believes the industry can only withstand the increases for so long.
He said: "We deal with international transport to and from Germany.
"They are feeling it really badly in Germany, and across in Europe.
"Since the beginning of the year we have been handed increases up to 14 per cent now.
"You can only withstand not passing that on for so long.
"We have to start passing that on now.
"The end results will be felt at the shops, things will be increased by an amount to cover the fuel.
"And it is still rising, towards the end of the year, we are getting towards 20 per cent increases.
"Somebody needs to step in, I don’t understand why all of sudden everything is problematic."
Mohammad Niwaz, chairman of the Sandwell Private Hire Drivers Association has been a taxi driver since 1983 and said the rises have had a big effect.
It is thought the increases will push drivers away and result in longer waits for travellers.
He said: "Locally we have gone from a peak of 2,400 drivers to 1,000 now.
"I used to put £45 in the car to fill up, now I put £70 in, but there's no increase taxi fairs.
"Everything else has gone up; the bills, council tax, but the only thing that doesn’t go up is our fairs.
"I think people will leave the industry as they won't be making enough.
"I myself might have to leave the trade, because it just isn't feasible.
"And that is not just me, there has been loads who have left to do things such as food delivery.
"You don’t even make the minimum wage, how are you supposed to survive?
"People are already waiting longer for taxis, and they will have to wait even longer if this continues."
Abid Hussain, director of Wednesbury-based Excelsior Cars Ltd which specialises in airport transfers and long journeys, said his business has been badly affected by the increases.
He said: "It is just getting worse and worse.
"The only thing we can do is pass it on to the customer.
"It is a knock-on effect to everyone, everything is expensive, the cost of living is too much.
"The only thing we can do is up the price, but there’s a lot of competition.
"We had to already make raises in March or April but we kept it as small as possible.
"The cost just keeps going up, we mainly run diesel cars, and the bills are are up by 50 per cent.
"We are all in the same boat but the government need to do something such as reducing VAT.
"It is strangling the industry and giving us a lot of stress."
