PRICES of petrol have fallen since the Daily News began its daily fuel watch.

Some service stations have cut prices fractionally since the campaign kicked off last Thursday but nowhere have prices fallen by a margin of the recommended nine cents.

The largest fuel drop has been noted at the Caltex station along Wallace St, where unleaded fell by two cents to 142.9c/L.

However, as the Daily News went to print last night it was still among the most expensive fuel in town.

Owner Andrea Bushman said that was because her prices depended on what Caltex charged when she bought fuel.

“They give me a price on what I pay and I stick my percentage on it. Usually I work on about four cents (profit),” she said.

“Caltex doesn’t own the site, I just re-sell Caltex fuel. So price-wise it depends on what Caltex sells me.”

Mrs Bushman said it was difficult to compete with other large, company-owned fuel stations which she suspected did not make much money at the pump.

“Woolworths and Coles can work on zero (profit) because they’re going to make enough through their shops,” she said.

“I know that’s what they do; they can work on half a cent (profit).”

Adamant that she wasn’t “ripping motorists off”, the fuel station owner challenged people to come and view her invoices, saying she had “nothing to hide”.

To try and compete with larger fuel companies, Mrs Bushman has had to concentrate on a more personal service to retain loyal customers.

One of the drawcards for the fuel station was hand-delivering fuel to motorists – but Mrs Bushman said it came at a price.

“I’m one of the stations in town elderly people come to because we fuel their cars up,” she said.

“But people have to be aware that it costs money to put staff on to do that, so of course I have to charge a bit more to offer that.

“You say we’re charging 5c/L more than anywhere else – well for a 50L tank that’s just $2.50. In the big scheme of things that’s (not much). Groceries have gone up $20 - $30 so fuel isn’t the biggest expense for families.”

Other fuel decreases have been at Woolworths Fuel, where regular unleaded dropped six cents, and at the United on Wallace St, petrol and diesel prices both dropped two cents.

A motorist refuelling at one of the service stations yesterday conveyed his support for the Daily fuel watch.

“Keep at it, keep the pressure on,” he said.

“I’ve noticed fuel prices drop by a couple of cents but it’s still not enough.

“If they made their prices cheaper they’d probably make more money. At the moment people are only putting in $5 or $10 to get to Brisbane, or another place where fuel is cheaper.

“If prices were cheaper here they’d spend money in town.”