Fifers were queuing up on Tuesday to show their support for The Courier’s fight for fairer fuel.
Hundreds of shoppers in The Mercat centre in Kirkcaldy approached a special Courier stand to sign our petition calling on the government to introduce a fuel duty regulator.
With average petrol prices hitting an all-time high of 128.81p a litre, more than 8000 people have so far signed the petition to demand action and in Fife motorists were clearly angry at the effect the price hikes have had on them.
Marie Simpson from Kirkcaldy drives a disability car as her husband is registered disabled and, as a diabetic, also attends regular hospital appointments.
“At the moment it costs me £10 a day in fuel and that’s just running back and forward to Glenrothes,” she said. “My husband has to go to the hospital a lot for his feet because he is diabetic and it’s costing a fortune. It’s a nightmare.”
Pensioner Thomas Smart, also from Kirkcaldy, depends on his daughter to drive him places and said the cost of fuel was hitting her hard.
“She can only put a certain amount of money in the car at a time and now she can’t do nearly the same amount of miles,” he said. “I think it’s ridiculous and it looks like it’s going to go even higher.”
Keira Dodds, whose mum drives, said the rising costs had been a worry and she feared prices could go up further.
“It affects us in many ways because there’s only so much money you can spend,” she said.
Glenrothes man Jimmy Thomson also signed the petition, branding the current price of fuel “a con.”
“I only use the car for really essential journeys now and take the bus or walk when I can,” he said. “I don’t take my wife on the same number of day trips now either. Before we would go to Perth or Stirling for the shops but now we usually just stay local because it’s too dear.
“It’s time the government did something about it because it’s affecting folks’ lives.”
If you want to support the Courier’s call for a fuel duty regulator, click here to add your name to our petition.