Petrol companies can plan for the future too
There are currently only four petrol stations serving motorists in Bath (five if you count the one at Hinton Charterhouse on the A36), and for a population of over 85,000, you start to wonder how sustainable this number will be in 15-20 years time with even more cars on our roads.
Nationally, across the country, the number of petrol stations has more than halved in 20 years. In 1991, there were 21,000 petrol stations, and there are now less than 9,000 remaining. What makes this even more shocking is that the number of cars on our roads has doubled during that time.
Back here in Bath, we seem to be coping reasonably well, and we don't seem to experience any huge queues when waiting to fill up our cars, but with the projected increases in population over the next 20 years, I wonder whether there is a need for the petrol companies to start planning for this population increase.
Government makes plans for new schools and hospitals, so surely petrol companies ought to be planning for new petrol stations? How about it?
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This dwindling number of petrol stations also means that we are having to drive further and further for our petrol, which means more expense and inconvenience, not to mention more carbon emissions too.
So in summary, the current situation is working reasonably well (luckily!), but when we do start to see longer and longer queues at petrol stations, perhaps then we should get on Facebook or Twitter, and then really start to complain.
Comments
by MoeXXX
Thursday, October 18 2012, 10:10PM
“But it's not going to happen, is it? So long as the fossil fuel industry is exempt from insuring against the damage it causes (unlike, say, nuclear), then the free market will favour fossil fuels until they run out for good, by which time it'll be far too late.
I hear the Tories have actually categorised natural gas as a green fuel, on the basis it is more green that coal. Fantastic.”
by rogerh3
Thursday, October 18 2012, 10:07PM
“the planet won't be either if we continue to waste our fossil reserves."
The planet will be. And if humans aren't it'll no doubt be doing very nicely without us.”
by BrookWhelan
Thursday, October 18 2012, 9:39PM
“You never know...electric cars might have become mainstream by then. Hopefully the price of these electric cars will have dropped too :)”
by jezer
Thursday, October 18 2012, 9:30PM
“Well, I doubt I will still be around then, but maybe the planet won't be either if we continue to waste our fossil reserves.”
by BrookWhelan
Thursday, October 18 2012, 8:45PM
“Moe, we shall have to wait and see in 20 years time :)”
by MoeXXX
Thursday, October 18 2012, 8:44PM
“@Roger - no, it goes hand in hand. In the same way, creationists are generally ignorant of evolutionary biology; crystal healers never did chemistry at school; climate change deniers tend not to have degrees in climate science etc etc. I think the term is blissful ignorance.
Totally off-topic - but equally ironic - I see Cameron has just announced his intention to interfere in the energy market by regulating the suppliers to give everyone their cheapest tariff. It's not just Malcolm; right-wing hypocrisy goes all the way up.”
by MoeXXX
Thursday, October 18 2012, 8:23PM
“Brooke - is there any reason to doubt it? Would *any* modern commercial operation be dumb enough to jeopardise their own existence by failing to ensure there were enough outlets for their products, let alone the likes of Shell and BP?
However, I'm sure they would appreciate your input.”
by rogerh3
Wednesday, October 17 2012, 7:55PM
“Is it just coincidental that someone who claims to champion the free market is completely clueless about basic economics?”
by BrookWhelan
Wednesday, October 17 2012, 7:01PM
“Hi Moexx, I was not moaning about the petrol station closures. I was just wondering whether the petrol companies are going to be planning for the predicted population growth over the next 15 to 20 years.”
by MoeXXX
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 11:48PM
“Not quite thriving by McDonalds standards then, but forget the Schwartz diversion and answer the question. I threw you a lifeline by suggesting a way that high taxes may have squeezed smaller operators out; though the only possible way this could work is if the smaller operators were less efficient anyway, and the high tax was just accelerating the inevitable.
I want you and/or Mr Whelan to admit that advocating a free-market and then moaning about the results is fundamentally hypocritical. Either that, or admit that the idea that the unregulated free-market will always yield the desired results is basic nonsense.
You can't have it both ways.”