Petrol prices keep going up.

Since the 1980's the cost of petrol has risen and risen.

Here is a graph showing the cost in pence of a litre of gas since 1983. Obviously the price has gone up, but so has inflation. However even when we factor in the changing cost of living it is still apparent that petrol has risen by about 30%.

The reasons for rising oil prices

The reasons are 'peak oil', a rising global population and the government's fuel duty escalator meaning more tax being applied to the pump price.

In addition, international finance has had a big effect. In early 2012 a strengthening dollar was an additional factor driving up forecourt prices. Then the political instability of oil producing nations is another factor in the petrol prices mix.

The effects of high petrol costs

A research report by Sainsbury's Car Insurance said that 1.3 million people in the UK gave up driving their cars in 2011 due to the rising cost of petrol.

Meanwhile, the Automobile Association reported that they are now seeing clear evidence that road users are driving at lower speeds to conserve fuel. The message that keeping revs down means a tank of petrol lasts longer does seem to be getting through.

The future of petrol prices

However we can only do so much and the bad news is that nobody is predicting anything other than continued rises that outstrip inflation. It is simply a fact that the days of cheap petrol are behind us.

There are more and more people who want petrol and fewer and fewer gallons being pumped out of the ground. Market forces mean that the prices will rise and rise.

So, the only long term solution is a switch to other forms of automotive power. Electricity, fuel cells, hydrogen, biogas and other innovations will definitely replace petrolium spirit over the next 30 years or so. And in the meantime, we will just have to be a bit more frugal when it comes to filling the tank and going for a drive.