Cheap Petrol

[bainbrig]

In 1970-odd, when we started driving, petrol was about 3 gallons for a pound (33p per gallon).

Average wages at the time were about £25 a week, so one gallon was about 2 percent of average wage.

Average wages are now (ish) £30000, or £575 a week. 2 per cent of that is £11.50.

While petrol is currently about £1.75 a litre, or £9 a gallon (ish).

So petrol has either remained the same relative price, or in some circumstances is cheaper.

I know that the £575 is arguable, and includes the fat cats on hundreds of thousands a year as well as the cleaners on minimum wage, but apart from that are my sums right?

BB

[Flonska]

If the average wage in the 70's was £25.00 per week and a gallon of petrol was £0.33 then petrol, would, I think, equate to approx to 1.3%. (£0.50 would be 2%).

At £1.75 per litre, petrol is £8.00 per gallon (approx) and that would equate to 1.39% of an average wage of £575.00.

[retrocop]

I remember cheap petrol. 2s 6d a gallon of Esso in our local station. My Dad used to shop around for cheaper.Our A.30 only held about 8 gallons. That was during the Suez crisis when he needed ration coupons as well.

[douglas9401]

£1.75/litre? Are you having it delivered by goddesses riding unicorns?

It's about £1.30 at Morrisons.

[Gizmonster]

//// £1.75/litre? Are you having it delivered by goddesses riding unicorns?

It's about £1.30 at Morrisons. ////

....... exactly what I was thinking. It was approx £1.30 when I went to Tesco yesterday.

[EDDIE51]

£1.28 a liter here,we have 2 garages next door to each other and they try to outdo each other on price.

[ladybirder]

Where the heck do you live BB for petrol to be £1.75/litre? £1.28 here.

[EDDIE51]

Mind you I worked for 3 years on an oil field in Saudi Arabia. Petrol was equivalent to 11 pence (yes pence) a Gallon! No wonder I could afford to run a 5.8 Litre Chevrolet .

[mccfluff]

119.9 this morning for me at sains

[Gizmonster]

Assuming your average weekly wage of £25 in the 1970's and 33p per gallon,
this is 1.32% of the average weekly wage.

£1.30 per litre is approx £5.91 per gallon.

£5.91 is 1.32% of £447 (approx), equivalent to £23244 per annum.

If the average yearly wage is £30k:
this gives that a gallon of petrol is currently 1.02% of the average weekly wage.

Assuming that the your figures of 33p per gallon and £25 per week are correct, it suggests that petrol prices are pretty much what they used to be, in relation to wages.

[fiction-factory]

The £575 pw figure is probably teh median figure so won't be distorted by fats cats (Corbyn, Lineker, Lily Allen etc)

[bainbrig]

Flonska. Your fine tuning of my guestimates indicates that petrol is at best the same relative price now as it was 50-odd years ago, and if you take the claims of cheaper fuel at Tescos and Morrisons, then it is in fact CHEAPER now.

Only doubt is over the £30,000 figure, as I know several people on between £15 and £20,000 a year, so for them petrol is in fact dearer!

[Vagus]

Average salary in UK in 2018 is £27271 according to GQ magazine. Gives lots of other averages as well. Some related to men only.

[bainbrig]

Thanks vagus.

I’ve been suspicious of similar figures since the 80s when unemployment figures were ‘improved’ by excluding various categories, like short-term unemployed, long-term unemployed, young, old - etc.

I know such terms are sniffed at these days, but I’d like some class-based statistics! Average working class wages, for example.

[waterboatman]

When I had my first car in the early/mid 60's, petrol was 3/6 a gallon, that's 17.5 pence for four and a half litres. (approx}

[bhg481]

It's worth pointing out that current vehicles get about 50% more mpg than those of the 70's, so the fuel costs for travelling a given distance are reduced proportionally.

[waterboatman]

Good point!

[paddywak]

As a school boy I had a part time job as a petrol pump attendant,no self service in those days,for which I received 2/- per hour and the top grade petrol was 4/11d a gallon.