Diesel up 59p a litre since war began, BBC reports
The managing director of a Shropshire-based firm that trains people to drive lorries and buses told the BBC his company is “riding out” record UK fuel prices that have added hundreds of pounds to the cost of filling each vehicle.
Steve Dulson, who founded Dulson Training in 2013, said diesel prices had risen by up to 50p a litre excluding VAT over the past 12 months. “It’s hard to react to that, because of how we deal with our customers,” he said. “That makes it difficult for us to put prices up.”
Dulson’s customers have usually been in the company’s pipeline for some time, taking medicals, applying for provisional licences or sitting theory tests, so by the time they reach practical training and fuel prices have risen, they have already been quoted.
The average price of diesel in the UK hit an all-time high of 199.33p a litre this week, according to the RAC motoring organisation, with petrol rising to 174.23p a litre.
The BBC reported that the Middle East war, which began on 28 February, had added 59p to the average cost of a litre of diesel — just under 40 percent — and 41p to the price of petrol. International supplies of diesel have been heavily constrained by the conflict, the broadcaster said.
Dulson said his family-run business had limited room to trim fuel costs, and could extend breaks during training sessions or take routes that use less fuel.
“The customer has paid us to do a job and we’re going to do that to the best of our ability,” Dulson said. “As next year comes round, we might have to increase prices to reflect what we’re going through, unless there’s a downturn.”
The BBC also reported that UK petrol and diesel prices had been largely falling since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, before reversing course after the February escalation.