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I just have a question for all of the Aussies on the board. It is my understanding that you live very similar to how we do here in the US, relying on your cars to get almost anywhere from shopping, to going to work, to visiting friends, etc- and that your distances are rather spread out just as ours are as well.
So my question is, how are you faring with this recent quick spike in fuel prices? Here in the States we hear doom and gloom, that our entire economy depends on people's ability to easily afford the fuel for their cars and that once this gets a bit more expensive it will be a domino effect sending our economy into free-fall. Is there talk similar to this down under as well? Or is it just business as usual as people just deal with the higher prices?
Yes I too want to know especially with Down Under love of Holden V8s. I'm sure the urbanites in Central Sydney don't care as they have a nice subway system.
Price of fuel in brisbane is around $1.50 (Au) per litre, currently thats about $1.62 US per litre or $6 (US) per gallon. We are told Brisbane is one of the more expensive places to fill up in Australia.
It does not directly affect me too much, we have good access to public transport where we live and might use the car once or twice a week.
Of course high fuel costs indirectly make just about every consumer product more expensive.
While Australia is auto dependent, We have never really being an oil producer, and from what i gather the right to vast quatities of cheap petrol is not as much as part of Australian culture as it is in the US.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 05-02-2011 at 04:03 PM..
The gas ranges for me from $4.09/gal to $4.52 from home to work (42 miles each way). It is not good, and really hoping it goes down soon. Living in the country is great, but no public transportation and no one to carpool with really is making life a bit tighter lately.
I just have a question for all of the Aussies on the board. It is my understanding that you live very similar to how we do here in the US, relying on your cars to get almost anywhere from shopping, to going to work, to visiting friends, etc- and that your distances are rather spread out just as ours are as well.
So my question is, how are you faring with this recent quick spike in fuel prices? Here in the States we hear doom and gloom, that our entire economy depends on people's ability to easily afford the fuel for their cars and that once this gets a bit more expensive it will be a domino effect sending our economy into free-fall. Is there talk similar to this down under as well? Or is it just business as usual as people just deal with the higher prices?
In sydney $1.40/$1.50 a litre. ah I remember the days of 70c.... It hasn't been under $1 for a few years.
What I have been disapointed with is the lack of media pressure...
with our dollar so high agaisnt USD, why haven't our petrol prices decreased??
There is no talk of the economy going into free-fall, a tendency to just get on with it.... there is always talk about the fuel prices increasing around public holidays and weekends. The entire industry is a rort IMO.
In sydney $1.40/$1.50 a litre. ah I remember the days of 70c.... It hasn't been under $1 for a few years.
What I have been disapointed with is the lack of media pressure...
with our dollar so high agaisnt USD, why haven't our petrol prices decreased??
There is no talk of the economy going into free-fall, a tendency to just get on with it.... there is always talk about the fuel prices increasing around public holidays and weekends. The entire industry is a rort IMO.
I agree about the industry being very shady. They claim the prices are going up due to increased worldwide demand and shortages in supply, but the facts show that this is not true- in fact there is excess supply recently.
Besides those that live in the inner urban areas, do most Aussies truly drive a lot as I have been led to believe? 30-40 minute commutes each way to work? Are fuel prices a daily conversation piece as they are here in the states these days?
I'm just so curious, as I see Australia as the only other places besides Canada where the population is seemingly as car-centric as we are here in the States.
I agree about the industry being very shady. They claim the prices are going up due to increased worldwide demand and shortages in supply, but the facts show that this is not true- in fact there is excess supply recently.
Besides those that live in the inner urban areas, do most Aussies truly drive a lot as I have been led to believe? 30-40 minute commutes each way to work? Are fuel prices a daily conversation piece as they are here in the states these days?
I'm just so curious, as I see Australia as the only other places besides Canada where the population is seemingly as car-centric as we are here in the States.
a 30-40 minute commute is good! most that work in the city would take public transport, however we are very car dependent, and do drive a lot.. suburbia in full swing..
no, a few years ago fuel prices were hot topic of conversation -- but I think we're resigned to the fact that they'll just do what they like..
The ACCC (Australian Consumer Competition... C...)is meant to keep an eye on them, but it doesn't seem to do anything.
Besides those that live in the inner urban areas, do most Aussies truly drive a lot as I have been led to believe? 30-40 minute commutes each way to work? Are fuel prices a daily conversation piece as they are here in the states these days?
Here in Perth, a 30 to 40 minute commute is probably on the lower end of commutes during peak/rush hour for the majority of suburbanites. If we were to drive to work, living about 20k from the downtown area, it would take us just over 30 minutes if nothing went wrong. Clogged freeway, stop and go, not a pleasant start to the morning for us which is why we take the train. The freeway runs north-south, as well as much of the train line. The east-west routes are not well served by road or train. Perth is very spread out.
Ever since I've lived in Australia, fuel prices have been a conversation piece, almost daily, but at least weekly. It yo-yos up and down, seemingly without sense. Oil prices go up, our fuel prices here go up within minutes. Oil prices go down, our fuel prices stay where they are. Or if they do come down it's a trickle, over time.
a 30-40 minute commute is good! most that work in the city would take public transport, however we are very car dependent, and do drive a lot.. suburbia in full swing..
no, a few years ago fuel prices were hot topic of conversation -- but I think we're resigned to the fact that they'll just do what they like..
The ACCC (Australian Consumer Competition... C...)is meant to keep an eye on them, but it doesn't seem to do anything.
That is funny about the ACCC- they sound about as bad as our agencies that are also supposed to keep an eye on our prices- we all know when they say they are doing an investigation that they will find nothing.
Interesting, suburbia in full swing. Jammed freeways, people driving around and around parking lots at the Mall or Park on a nice Saturday afternoon waiting to find available parking spaces? I guess our nations are indeed very similar. Is there a major push down there to try to implement widespread alternative energy for vehicles to get out from under the crushing weight of oil prices in the future? I sure hope this is one area where you are different from us- not just acting as victims who are powerless to the whims of the oil companies as we are.
Here in Perth, a 30 to 40 minute commute is probably on the lower end of commutes during peak/rush hour for the majority of suburbanites. If we were to drive to work, living about 20k from the downtown area, it would take us just over 30 minutes if nothing went wrong. Clogged freeway, stop and go, not a pleasant start to the morning for us which is why we take the train. The freeway runs north-south, as well as much of the train line. The east-west routes are not well served by road or train. Perth is very spread out.
Ever since I've lived in Australia, fuel prices have been a conversation piece, almost daily, but at least weekly. It yo-yos up and down, seemingly without sense. Oil prices go up, our fuel prices here go up within minutes. Oil prices go down, our fuel prices stay where they are. Or if they do come down it's a trickle, over time.
it may still be a conversation here, but most people I hang out with in Sydney don't bother driving during the week, .. so its limited to weekend driving...
the idea of a clogged freeway... so fustrating! The south-eastern freeway in Melbourne is often referred to as "The Carpark"
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm31828
That is funny about the ACCC- they sound about as bad as our agencies that are also supposed to keep an eye on our prices- we all know when they say they are doing an investigation that they will find nothing.
Interesting, suburbia in full swing. Jammed freeways, people driving around and around parking lots at the Mall or Park on a nice Saturday afternoon waiting to find available parking spaces? I guess our nations are indeed very similar. Is there a major push down there to try to implement widespread alternative energy for vehicles to get out from under the crushing weight of oil prices in the future? I sure hope this is one area where you are different from us- not just acting as victims who are powerless to the whims of the oil companies as we are.
yep you seemed to sum it up quite easily,
green energy is a big deal... fuels.. not that I know much about this but there is fuel with ethanol available -- or they all do now?!
but yes, the holden (GM) and Ford cars arent really being sold as they were previously.
I think there is a sense of powerlessness..we can't just drive into another state too easily, or across borders to fill up either !
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Is there a major push down there to try to implement widespread alternative energy for vehicles to get out from under the crushing weight of oil prices in the future? I sure hope this is one area where you are different from us- not just acting as victims who are powerless to the whims of the oil companies as we are. 
