Blackpool taxi services feeling the pinch as petrol prices soar to record highs

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine the cost of petrol has soared, exceeding £1.52 per litre for the first time.

Figures from data firm Experian Catalist show the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts was 152.20p on Wednesday, March 2, up from 151.67p the day before.

The cost of diesel rose from 155.23p to a new high of 155.79p over the same period, while the cost of Brent crude oil reached a 10-year high of nearly 120 US dollars per barrel.

READ: Cheapest places to buy petrol in Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde

With further price hikes on the horizon, some Blackpool taxi companies have expressed concern about what the future holds.

Andrew McClelland, of Fairways Pegasus Travel, set up his airport taxi service in Blackpool 30 years ago. He said: "It has hit us particularly hard as we are only a small business with a few dozen cars.

"If things carry on as they are, we'll end up working for nothing.

"We take bookings well in advance, so it's very difficult to put prices up once you've given someone a quote and a confirmation.

"Previously, prices would rise and fall. Now, they go up and they don't come down.

"The job is very hard work now. I'd warn anybody coming into this business against it.

"I think probably within the next 10 years our company will cease to be, because people today will go about in their own cars. Airport taxi services are on their last legs."

Anthony Severyn, senior operator at Whiteside Taxis, said: "With the price of fuel going up, it is more costly for our drivers, but we don't have much control over that because the tariffs are controlled by the council.

"There's a fine line between not setting the cost too high and keeping our drivers happy and running business as usual.

"We don't know how high the pricess will rise. At the moment it's higher than it has been in the past few years, probably the highest it has ever been, and there's going to be changes with that, but we will just have to monitor it. That's the only thing we can do."

He added: "Business is generally steady, because people have to get from A to B regardless of fuel costs. Business is picking up after the Covid-19 lockdown, and despite the increase in fuel prices people still need to get to work, get to doctors appointments, get to the shops.

"It has not affected us too much, but if it goes on for too long and prices go out of control, that won't be good news for us. The bright side is we do still have a lot of eco-friendly cars."

Business owners are not the only ones airing their concerns.

One St Annes driver said: “I have got a vehicle, I use it all the time, and you’ve got to consider – do I need a car? Should I use it as much as I have done in the past?”

Another driver said: “It is a great concern because making ends meet tends to cost a lot more.”

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