I have been watching my US friends on Facebook whine (ops did I really write that I meant proclaim) about the gas prices lately and I just have to shake my head.
It is well known that the US is the nation of cheap fuel, especially compared to Europe. In the UK, it is expensive. It was the fuel prices that drove us to get the most fuel efficient cars that we could, which meant we got diesels.
The nice thing about the UK is that we don't see the constant jogging of petrol prices. Diesel has held pretty steadily around the £1.39 price until recently. At the beginning of the year, there was talk about an additional 3p petrol tax, but it was protested highly and did not go through as David Cameron had hoped.
Last month diesel rose about 8p to £1.47/8/9. The further away from the cities one is, the more expensive the fuel costs rise. Interestingly enough the price of petrol did not rise. All in all in means that I am paying about $11.30 a gallon. Eat that US friends and shut your big fat whiney mouths! (OK, but you do have a valid point with your whining only because the UK has a much better bus and train infrastructure....)
Starting Monday we the radio has been talking about the possibility of an upcoming petrol driver strike. They are apparently unionized and the strike is coming from the union. The unions that are talking about striking represent about 90% of the fuel stations in the UK. The worst is apparently suppose to hit Easter weekend. It has been announced that the government in anticipation of this happening was training up members of the army to step in so that there will not be a big disruption in supplies for the delivery at the petrol stations.
It was also announced that big oil companies and the government were sitting at the table with the union to sort things out. The union is stating that there are safety and training issues that are being ignored to save money. Right now things are apparently looking more toward a strike as the radio advised today for citizens to start hoarding fuel. There was a strike in 2000 that left many fuel stations without any fuel.
Projections are for the strike to really take effect right over the Easter holiday, when we of course are planning to go tour to the north....
It is well known that the US is the nation of cheap fuel, especially compared to Europe. In the UK, it is expensive. It was the fuel prices that drove us to get the most fuel efficient cars that we could, which meant we got diesels.
The nice thing about the UK is that we don't see the constant jogging of petrol prices. Diesel has held pretty steadily around the £1.39 price until recently. At the beginning of the year, there was talk about an additional 3p petrol tax, but it was protested highly and did not go through as David Cameron had hoped.
Last month diesel rose about 8p to £1.47/8/9. The further away from the cities one is, the more expensive the fuel costs rise. Interestingly enough the price of petrol did not rise. All in all in means that I am paying about $11.30 a gallon. Eat that US friends and shut your big fat whiney mouths! (OK, but you do have a valid point with your whining only because the UK has a much better bus and train infrastructure....)
Starting Monday we the radio has been talking about the possibility of an upcoming petrol driver strike. They are apparently unionized and the strike is coming from the union. The unions that are talking about striking represent about 90% of the fuel stations in the UK. The worst is apparently suppose to hit Easter weekend. It has been announced that the government in anticipation of this happening was training up members of the army to step in so that there will not be a big disruption in supplies for the delivery at the petrol stations.
It was also announced that big oil companies and the government were sitting at the table with the union to sort things out. The union is stating that there are safety and training issues that are being ignored to save money. Right now things are apparently looking more toward a strike as the radio advised today for citizens to start hoarding fuel. There was a strike in 2000 that left many fuel stations without any fuel.
Projections are for the strike to really take effect right over the Easter holiday, when we of course are planning to go tour to the north....
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