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UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

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Re: UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

#11

Post by Nextgrid »

bitdivision wrote: post #3

> From 2 February 2026, you must submit fuel price updates within 30 minutes of any change. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-your-fuel-prices-and-fore... So looks as though the requirement to report was only just introduced, hence the considerable missing data. Edit: BBC reporting here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp80dpzdg37o

I guess the question is how will it be enforced and what would the penalties be for reporting inaccurate or outdated data?

Companies do not understand "must" unless it's accompanied by a proven threat of sanctions that outweighs the profits made by breaching the regulation. The GDPR is a good example of plenty of "musts" and theoretical fines but lax enforcement means it's always more profitable to breach it than comply.

Re: UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

#12

Post by maffyoo »

When see things like this, I always think of the Chinese proverb

"An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but it is hard to buy one inch of time with one inch of gold"

Which always says to me that its not worth it just use the quickest option

Take the example drcongo posted:

"Yesterday I had to drive to a nearby town, just 20 minutes away, and noticed that every single petrol station there was a good 5p per litre cheaper than my town. I might plug this into a map."

Assume he uses 30 litres a week (high end of average UK usage) that's £1.50 per week saving but assume the extra miles use half a litre, that takes about 65 p off the saving (ill not go into wear and tear) over 30 years of work 50 weeks a year this means a saving of £1,275 over 30 years ... sounds a lot but

20 mins away - this assumes 40 minutes per week over 50 weeks is 2000 minutes, and over 30 years 60000 minutes. Now assume you are awake for 16 hours a day this equates to 62.5 days of free time - more than two months of awake time

so as the saying goes... which would you prefer £1,275 saving or 62.5 days of time

Re: UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

#13

Post by blibble »

drcongo wrote: post #2

Yesterday I had to drive to a nearby town, just 20 minutes away, and noticed that every single petrol station there was a good 5p per litre cheaper than my town. I might plug this into a map.

as much as I try to stay away from Google products: waze shows this on the usual driving map quite well

Re: UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

#16

Post by bitdivision »

Nextgrid wrote: post #11
bitdivision wrote: post #3

> From 2 February 2026, you must submit fuel price updates within 30 minutes of any change. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-your-fuel-prices-and-fore... So looks as though the requirement to report was only just introduced, hence the considerable missing data. Edit: BBC reporting here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp80dpzdg37o

I guess the question is how will it be enforced and what would the penalties be for reporting inaccurate or outdated data? Companies do not understand "must" unless it's accompanied by a proven threat of sanctions that outweighs the profits made by breaching the regulation. The GDPR is a good example of plenty of "musts" and theoretical fines but lax enforcement means it's always more profitable to breach it than com…

Some vague info here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuel-finder-enfor...

Re: UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

#17

Post by tene80i »

nmeofthestate wrote: post #8

I wonder if the CSV is supposed to list all petrol stations, as currently it only has 4 with city==Edinburgh. Edit: after asking AI about this I would say the CSV is pretty useless as a comprehensive source of info on UK fuel prices.

It’s only just been launched. AI isn’t a great way to find out about brand new things.

Re: UK government launches fuel forecourt price API

#18

Post by oniony »

maffyoo wrote: post #12

When see things like this, I always think of the Chinese proverb "An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but it is hard to buy one inch of time with one inch of gold" Which always says to me that its not worth it just use the quickest option Take the example drcongo posted: "Yesterday I had to drive to a nearby town, just 20 minutes away, and noticed that every single petrol station there was a good 5p per litre c…

I've also wondered about whether to fully fill my tank or drive on a small amount so that I'm not using fuel to carry fuel. Do you know of any metrics on that?
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