Rotherham businesses struggle as fuel price soars

Hauliers, taxi drivers and driving instructors are among the worst-hit as prices on the forecourts smashed the £1.30 mark for a litre of diesel and closed in on the same mark for petrol.

This week some traders spoke of a nationwide bout of strikes in an effort to force the Government to reduce fuel duty—which makes up more than 60 per cent of the price of fuel.

Others spoke of the need to streamline their businesses to counteract rising costs, leaving many staff out of work.

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And there were warnings this week that rising food prices and reduced public transport could follow suit.

Ray Watson, the owner of A1 Taxis, said: “We’re stuck between a rock and a very hard place.

“We are in the middle of a recession so we can’t raise our prices because our customers would simply stop using us—but my drivers are paying up to £1,000-a-year more on fuel than they were a year ago and it’s hitting them hard.”

A rise in fuel duty of 0.76p per litre earlier this month came into force at the same time as VAT rose to 20 per cent.

According to the Automoble Association, diesel prices have risen by 6.6p per litre on average this month, from 126.2p to 132.8p, while the average price difference between unleaded and diesel widened to 4.5p.

Yorkshire and Humberside is among the cheapest regions to buy fuel, with the average cost for a litre of unleaded standing at 127.3p per litre.

But with a further fuel duty rise of up to 5p per litre scheduled for April and fears that crude oil prices could increase double by the summer, Mr Watson said he felt that drastic action could be the only answer.

He added: “The fuel strikes of a few years ago—when the tanker drivers almost brought the country to a standstill—will have to return and I can see taxi drivers and other industries joining hauliers this time around. The rising cost of fuel is hitting everyone hard.

“These are the toughest times I’ve known in business since the era of the three-day week when Ted Heath was Prime Minister in the 19‘70s.”

Ian Powell, director of Powell’s bus services, said: “Small, independent bus operators are being hit extremely hard by the rise in fuel costs.

“In January last year, we were paying 89p per litre for fuel and now it stands at £1.11.

“People don’t fully appreciate how the rise in fuel costs will ultimately affect them.

“Less viable rural bus services will be scrapped, food prices will rise and we’ll all have less freedom to travel.

“It’s disastrous and, at the moment, everyone just seems to be watching it happen.”

Derek Harris, director of Harris Transport, on Meadowbank Road, Kimberworth, was forced to make redundancies last year because of rising overheads.

Now he fears that his Southampton-based firm—which employs around 100 people—might be forced to cut back on of its northern base even more as fuel prices tighten the screw further.

Mr Harris revealed: “Last year we had to get rid of 25 per cent of our workforce in Rotherham. We had no choice. But now things are getting even worse. The price of fuel is putting the entire UK haulage industry at risk.

“Fuel costs traditionally make up 40 per cent of our overheads but the cost of fuel has gone up 20 per cent in the last year. We’re now spending £1.25 million a year on fuel.

“The general public can’t continue to afford prices as they are and neither can the haulage industry.”

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