Why we still can’t quit petrol even as prices soar
4/16/202630 min
Petrol prices are up, car use is down, public transport and electric cars are booming, yet Australians are buying petrol more often than ever. Bank data shows panic topping‑up, driven by fear, not need. In this episode of The Economy, Stupid, we explain why fuel demand barely shifts with price and what it will take to finally break our dependence on petrol and diesel.
Guests:
Adam Triggs, Economist at consultancy Mandala; Researcher at the Australian National University and the Brookings Institution.
Paul Burke, Energy specialist and long‑time researcher at the Australian National University.
Clips
Transcript preview
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For a lot of us, petrol really, really matters, probably more than we like to admit. Anyone who thought we'd carry on much as before as prices soared has to contend with a pretty substantial drop in our use of cars by as much as a fifth on some roads on weekends, a surge in our use of public transport, and record sales of electric cars. But one thing we haven't stopped buying is petrol. Credit card data shows us topping up with petrol at what might be a record rate because we're scared. If only there was a way to wean ourselves off petrol, and even more importantly, wean ourselves off diesel. How can we do it?
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