Fuel price rises: Warwickshire coach company losing thousands

Johnsons Coaches said its fuel was costing thousands more than two weeks ago

A coach company said the cost of its fuel deliveries had increased by £6,000 in less than two weeks.

John Johnson, from Johnsons Coaches in Henley in Arden, said the last order on 26 May cost £1.37 per litre and had already gone up by 17p.

"So that means for 35,000 litres, I'm paying just about £6,000 more for the same amount of fuel," he said.

On Tuesday, the price of petrol saw its biggest daily jump in 17 years with a rise of more than 2p per litre.

Meanwhile, the average price of diesel rose by almost 1.5p to another record high of more than £1.86 per litre.

"After two years of Covid, we wanted some recovery, some normality back," Mr Johnson said.

"The last thing we all needed, for the tourism and travel industry especially, is this massive fuel hike, which is disappointing to say the least."

'Keep the wheels rolling'

The RAC said the average price of diesel had risen to 186.57p per litre, making the cost of filling a 55-litre family car £102.61.

The soaring prices are being driven by the war in Ukraine and moves to limit dependence on Russian oil.

The government introduced a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty in March to help protect consumers from rising prices, however concerns have been raised that retailers are not passing on the saving.

Mr Johnson said the coach company had tried to absorb the costs, but it was unsustainable.

"We need to keep the wheels rolling, but we will have to put prices up," he said.

"It will affect profitability for next year."