Hundreds of Dundee shoppers added their names to The Courier’s petition calling for fairer fuel prices on Saturday.
Scores of Saturday shoppers queued up to sign the petition and make their voices heard.
Interior designer Maria Weston (26) was among those who said she is being hit hard by rocketing fuel costs.
She runs her own firm, Maria’s Interiors, and her partner is also self-employed.
Although the coalition government has said it wants small businesses to drive forward the economic recovery, she said petrol prices are making this virtually impossible.
“We’re both self-employed so we need to use our cars to get around,” she said.
“And we need customers to have money to spend but with high petrol prices it just goes round in a vicious circle.”Cabinet backingSNP politicians Joe FitzPatrick, Shona Robison, Ken Guild and Willie Sawers took to the streets to urge people to back our campaign, which is calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to create a fuel duty regulator to curb soaring fuel prices.
The entire Scottish Government cabinet signed the petition last week and thousands of Courier readers have already added their names to the list.
Ronald Innes (66) from Glasgow said he believed rising fuel prices are unsustainable and will harm the economy.
He said, “I think a lot of haulage companies are going to go out of business.”
Taxi driver Tony Watters added, “Since last January, the cost of going 100 miles in your car has gone up by £5.
“That is at least £25 a week extra taxi drivers have to pay.”
David Cree from Lochee said filling up is now so expensive that it uses up half of his family’s weekly income.
“It’s just ridiculous. When they put the price of petrol up they put the price of everything up,” he said.
“I’m a pensioner so me and my wife only have £140 a week coming in. Our car’s a Peugeot 308 but to fill it up is £70, half of our weekly income.”Broken promisesJackie Robertson from Menzieshill said, “I don’t drive myself but have to give money to my son to fill up his car all the time.
“And my husband drives a van for work and that just guzzles fuel. As a family we’ve really noticed a difference in cost.
“I think David Cameron has promised a lot of things he hasn’t lived up to.”
Dundee University dentistry student Euros Jones (21) said, “I don’t have a car at the moment but I’m in my third year now and the prices of everything have totally gone up since first year.
“Students have had to adapt their budgets.”
Gary Newton (21) has a job with the ground staff at Tannadice.
He said, “I’ve just started work and wanted to get a car but there’s not much point if you can’t afford to run it.”