Rising fuel prices impact on Northumberland transport charities

Drivers are being hit in the pocket by record fuel prices sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Unleaded petrol cost £1.64.9 per litre in Alnwick yesterday (Wednesday) – 11p higher than it was two weeks ago - with diesel at an eye-watering £1.77.9.

But the pain hits even harder for local charities forced to spend more of their funding on fuel.

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Joanne Robb, transport manager at Alnwick-based North East Equality & Diversity (NEED), said: “It’s having a big impact.”

Berwick Cancer Cars driver Roger Peaple.Berwick Cancer Cars driver Roger Peaple.
Berwick Cancer Cars driver Roger Peaple.

The charity provides accessible affordable transport to the most vulnerable in the community, including older people, those with disabilities, mental health issues, the socially isolated and those unable to afford appropriate public or private transport.

"Our fuel costs have gone up quite drastically and it’s forced us to put our fares up a little to make it feasible,” said Joanne. “It’s something we just have to do.”

Berwick and District Cancer Support Group, better known as Berwick Cancer Cars, is forking out 36 per cent more on fuel now than it was two years ago.

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The charity has six cars averaging around 10,000 miles per month – the majority making the 120-mile round trip to hospitals in Newcastle.

Andrew Smith, its chairman, said: “We’ve spent £1,800 on fuel in the past 30 days compared with £1,147 in March 2020.

"It’s a fairer comparison because over the last two years we were trying to restrict journeys to one client per vehicle due to Covid so the costs were higher.

"But the recent rise in fuel costs has definitely impacted us as a small charity.

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"It costs us £5,500 a month to keep the cars running and fundraising is becoming more and more difficult so this does put us under more pressure. If we don’t have funds for the fuel then that’s it.”

A further frustration for many are the geographic differences in fuel prices, with unleaded petrol costing more at the Esso and BP branded garages in Alnwick than at supermarket branded forecourts in Berwick.

Sandra Hewitson noted on social media: “Berwick fuel has always been cheaper than Alnwick.”

Others accused retailers of ‘profiteering’ while Wendy Shiells asked ‘why can't it be the same all over the country?”

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There have, however, been encouraging signs that prices have started to fall, with 2p per litre knocked off the price of fuel in Alnwick on Tuesday.

The fall is a result of the wholesale price of oil slipping but experts have warned that this could be a “lull before the storm” of fresh rises.

Prices were already rising as producers struggled to meet growing global demand for oil but the war in Ukraine has caused uncertainty in the market.

Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at financial services company Investec, told the Treasury Select Committee: "If more stringent actions are imposed upon Russia, and five million barrels a day is truly taken out of the market, then oil prices would really have no ceiling."

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However, the RAC’s fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The price of oil has stabilised and may in fact be starting to fall further leading to reductions in wholesale fuel which in turn should result in cheaper pump prices.”