Victoria's first petrol price app could increase prices, but still worthwhile: report

The Age

2 days ago

An app displaying real-time fuel prices at Victorian petrol stations will cost about $2.4 million a year to run and may only save customers $5 or $10 a year – and could contribute to price increases – but will still be worthwhile, research has found.
The Allan government wants to publish up-to-date fuel prices on the Service Victoria app to save drivers time in finding the cheapest petrol. The scheme would cost the government $1.3 million and the industry $1.15 million per year to run, totalling an annual $2.4 million.
Consultants asked by the government to assess the plan say it's unclear whether it would decrease costs for consumers — or increase them.
Some fuel price transparency schemes lead to cheaper prices, while others lead to higher prices, advisory firm Sapere said.
But Sapere concluded that real-time price disclosure would still be worthwhile by saving motorists time.
'On balance, we expect that in the medium to long-term there will be net benefits,' it said in its recent regulatory impact statement.
Victoria is the only state or territory without a fuel price transparency scheme. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which monitors the retail price of unleaded petrol, diesel and LPG, found Melburnians could have saved $333 by comparing petrol prices in 2023.
Unleaded prices currently range from as low as $1.49 a litre to as high as $2.09 a litre. It takes about 6½ weeks for Melbourne's petrol prices to move from a low point to a peak and back to a low point.