[saurabh2711]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Great point. I have already started driving at 80 on the highways.

Originally Posted by AnandB

I too got great mileage when cruising below 80kmph. ... That's one way to make roads safer.

I agree with both of you completely.
Adding to you point, it actually reduces the stress on the mind as well, when maintaining these subdues speed. Easy on the car wear & tear as well. Better mileage, slightly negating the high fuel costs.
I have sort of come to a conclusion - that we may be only saving 30-60 minutes while doing neck-brake speeds against these subdued speed (& far more relaxing speeds)

Now since the prices works against Gravity - Once Gone up - they never come down. Thinking of EVs for personal use & putting up Solar pumps on my farms against taking an electrical connection. Thanks to TBHP we have a beautiful thread on Solar panel installations as well.

[AZT]

Some lighthearted fun 😂

[CivicheadUAE]

I really feel the pain for my fellow Indians on the spiraling of fuel costs. I am sure it must be hurting the wallets of millions of residents in India. You guys are not alone. I will try to bring in some international context to the fuel prices, especially in oil producing nations like the UAE.

I live in the UAE since 2011, and for ages we used to pay a fixed AED 1.72 to a liter of petrol (mind you, the highest in the GCC). In 2015 the fuel prices were de-regulated and all subsidies were removed, leaving the petrol prices to the vagaries of the global oil markets.

In 2011 when I first purchased my car, petrol used to cost Rs.20 (AED 1.72) a liter (when 1 USD was INR 44). Today, the petrol cost in the UAE has reached AED 2.60 to a liter (incl. 5% VAT) i.e. INR 52 per liter. That's a 60% jump (160% jump in INR Terms) in a decade. I work in the Oil sector here, I should be happy that global crude prices are at an all time high, but I am not, as there is a huge increase in the cost of living here as well. Being an import dependent country, we pay huge cargo costs of bringing in container loads of everything. Has anybody realized how cargo and shipping costs have increased disproportionately across the globe. Likewise, India imports all of its Crude and I am sure must be paying a bomb to the ULCCs to import the crude.

In addition to the high fuel prices we residents of oil producing nations, supposedly tax free nations also fork out huge sums for indirect taxes. Dubai (and now Abu Dhabi) has a toll system where we pay roughly INR 80 per toll crossing (and in Abu Dhabi you cannot avoid the toll, unlike Dubai which has toll free roads as well). We also pay a 5% tax on every tenancy contract, pay one of the highest mobile data charges in the world (AED 160 a month for 5GB of 4G Mobile data). So, please spare me the argument that we are in a tax haven.

Sometimes I feel I shouldn't have bought the gas guzzling 3.5V6 Honda Pilot as it pains getting a tankful every time. But then ride comfort offered by the SUV is second to none.

Mind you, the economy here is not in great shape, and unlike in India, regular pay rises here are not common. In the oil sector, pay rises only once in 2-3 years that too only 3-5%. So, every increase in common commodities pinches the pocket. Further, there was barely any WFH here in the UAE, so there was no great savings in the fuel bill as well. I know of close relatives back home who have made substantial savings in fuel bills by WFH and companies have not slashed salaries to pare it with the savings made in the commute. Again, big companies here (cannot name them for privacy reasons) have slashed salaries by 15% of those who wish to continue WFH. Plane loads of tourists from India jet into the UAE everyday (especially since the flights opened in September) with no seats available.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

How to extract the maximum out of every drop now? Let's start a new thread. That is BHPIANS forte .

BS6 Diesels & DPF clogging say hi!

Irrespective of brands, BS6 diesels don't like lugging/sedate driving

[rd18]

Not marketing, but you can get a minor relief using AMEX cards for use at HPCL. They have 5% cashback offer(max 200) ON till 07-Nov with 0% convenience fees (up to 5000). You need to save it to card by logging in to your account first.

So, for a 4000 diesel, get 200 back i.e. around 2 precious liters!


PS - Not associated in any way with HPCL or AMEX or Sai expressway.

AMEX can't issue new cards anyway for now, so just for benefit of existing card holders.

HPCL has been preferred pump for me, using same one at Pune. (Sai expressway, Thathwade).

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by turbojet7

Else they can kiss Goodbye to Lutyens Delhi in 2024.

Actually it's not necessary. There is no opposition govt. because there is nothing to oppose. Any new govt will have to face the ire of the people who will expect lowering of fuel prices by 50%, which will not be possible. The new govt will have to revoke a lot of laws to buy back public property that has been monetized. That will anger the big industrial houses that have invested money.

Imagine what Tata will say to the govt which tries to reclaim our national air carrier. Again.

[MercFan]

My two cents on why there are no street protests after fuel price hikes:

1. A big section of the society believes, prices are rising as it is inevitable.
2. Few believe, any party coming to power will not reduce the prices, this will continue.
3. Few think, let us show our anger during next polls.
4. Many believe States are equally responsible for this fuel price rise.

For example (excise collections and center state shares):

2017-2018 total collections : ₹2.58LCR, states share is about ₹71,759CR
2018 - 2019 total collections were ₹2.3LCR, out of which ₹35,874CR was states share.

First 6 months of 2021, NDA govt made additional income of ₹42,931CR from fuel prices. Whereas, the Oil bonds issued by UPA Govt for 2021 was about ₹10,000CR, and hence current NDA Govt made 3times more than the debt.

Furthermore, the Oil bonds issued by UPA Govt will have to be repaid till 2026. And there is a whopping ₹1.36L CR which has to be repaid to Oil companies.

Pending oil bonds repayment:

2021 - ₹10,000CR
2022 - ₹31,150CR
2023-2024 - ₹52,860CR
2025-2026 -₹36,913CR

Earlier, the NDA Govt increased the excise duty fee on petrol from ₹19.98 to ₹32.90. However, during peak stages of COVID (2020), when the crude oil prices were at all time low there was no price cut. On the other hand Govt claims this revenue is also being used to fund mega infra projects in the country, which makes sense, but building mega projects in a vast country like India is a never ending process and patience for common man is running out.


Data Source: Controller General of Account (CGA)

[VigneshMC]

Originally Posted by m8002?

I have already started driving at 80 on the highways. On my last BLR-MAS-BLR trip, I was cruising at 80 kmph and my Creta 1.4D returned a mileage of 24+. Earlier, I used to cruise at 100 and the mileage used to be around 20.

Same here , I did a round trip from Chennai to Madurai , 80 % highway and 20 % city . I maintained a speed between 80 and 100 , I got a average of 21.5 in MID, usually in these types of long trips I get only 15-16 in MID . Although its really hard to resist open highways in early mornings, result motivates to maintain this pattern . Other advantage I noticed in maintaining this speed is less honking (I honk a lot when maintaining high speeds) and less hard braking.

[IP_Man]

Originally Posted by Lalitha Venkat

Mate- Brent crude was at $18.20 during April 2020 and today is at $86. I am not getting into politics pls see any price chart which is not published by an Indian website/ Media so that you can be sure that they have no political bias

Crude oil price 2012: $104.09

Price of petrol 2012: INR 67.24
Price of Diesel 2012: INR 46.32

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Lalitha Venkat

I feel unless the non salaried people will start paying Income taxes honestly, any Government that comes to India is going to tax fuel as its the lowest hanging fruit and its the most efficient thing to do.

Actually, not any Govt. Only this govt. Central Tax on Fuel was 9 Rs in 2014. Its 33 Rs now.


Most people don't pay taxes because they earn less than 5 Lakhs a year which is the minimum tax slab. We are a very poor country. Median income in India is around 1.5 Lakhs a year - i.e. 50% of people earn below 1.5 Lakhs a year. Obviously, they don't fall into a any tax slab. Some 80% of the country earns below 5 lakhs. If people's income increases, then they will automatically fall in the tax slab. And people's income isn't going to increase by screwing up the economy by this kind of taxation. Even Bangladesh has a higher per capita Income than India now.

The way to increase income tax collection is not by doing stupid stuff like Demonetization, but by making the economy good, so people prosper. And things like Demonetization & High Fuel Taxes are the exact opposite of what needs to be done.

Originally Posted by Lalitha Venkat

Mate- Brent crude was at $18.20 during April 2020 and today is at $86.

How much was petrol price in India when Crude was 18.20$? Was it low? No, it still was very high because of very high central taxes. Same thing with 2014 when Crude was at 45$. Our petrol prices at the pump were still very high.

[rascalangel]

As if we needed any more reason to not go out with family commercial LPG has gone up by Rs. 266.

[akshay4587]

Regular Petrol was 105.6, XP95 was 110!!!!
To get used to the prices next week, I filled up my car with XP95

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by carboy

Most people don't pay taxes because they earn less than 5 Lakhs a year which is the minimum tax slab. We are a very poor country. Median income in India in India is around 1.5 Lakhs a year - i.e. 50% of people earn below 1.5 Lakhs a year. Obviously, they don't fall into a any tax slab. Some 80% of the country earns below 5 lakhs.

Completely agree with you. Our tax slabs are really screwed up. It should be more rational.
>50K --> No tax
50k - 2L --> 10%
2-5L --> 20%
>5L --> 30%
This would be a good slab system. Additional cess can be charged to tax the super rich.

[saket77]

I am into investment analysis services, so I think 'petrol' is a 'buy' at this price. Target price is 150/- without any recommendation of stop loss.
Treat the quantity of fuel in your car's tank as 'investment' and you will be happy to see its value rise everyday.

Just to escape mod action- Regular petrol has touched 104/- in Ranchi.

[Sanjivvohra]

The high fuel prices have really started to hit.
I live 24 km from my workplace and my car ( diesel) gives 8kmpl in Bangalore traffic. That's Rs 315 one way and Rs630 for the trip. Multiply this by 22 working days comes to Rs13,860/.

There's no public transport from my place to place of work. Nearest bus stop is 2km away and I will need to change once to another bus in between. Current run time to the office is 1hr 15 to 1hr30 min. With public transport, it takes close to 2hr 30 min to 3 hour one way. That's productivity loss of 3 hours ( plus added frustration of using public transport in India)

Auto charges Rs370/- one way during non peak hours. UBER is Rs550/- one way ( non peak).

So, can't get away from using my own car for the office commute. In Singapore, I would happily take the bus because it was economical, with easy access and comfortable. I have negotiated with the company recently to WFH for 3 days a week, to reduce this expense

We used to go for a road trip every weekend, to de-stress. This has now dropped to every other week.

Lifestyle has certainly changed. The alternative of EVs is still some years away - the quality and infrastructure just does not exist.
As TeamBhpians, we live to drive, and it pains me when we cannot do that.