Fuel prices put high pressure on frequent drivers

Created: 03/24/2022, 09:37

By: Catherine Brumbauer

Frequent drivers such as taxi driver Coskun Avcu from Garmisch-Partenkirchen have to dig deep into their pockets for diesel and petrol.

© Kornatz

The oil price has been going through the roof since the start of the Ukraine war, and fuel bills for representatives of some sectors are rising massively.

The fact that customers have to absorb the additional costs is usually inevitable.

District –

Master tinsmith and roofer Michael Reim does not always have to rely on the car.

When he and his employees are just inspecting construction sites, they ride their bikes.

"But that's only possible if we don't have to transport any materials," Reim clarifies.

Otherwise, the owner of the Neumeister company in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is forced to drive out with one of his vans or trucks.

Crafts are one of the trades that inevitably spend a lot of time on the road – and felt the effects of the fuel prices that exploded when the war in Ukraine broke out.

But other sectors are also affected.

Below is an overview:

• craft

The dilemma of the craft: It cannot simply save trips and thus fuel.

"We are very dependent on the weather and the individual schedules of the customers," explains Reim.

Putting several appointments on one trip to reduce distances is usually “almost impossible”.

The customer can also rely on the craftsman who has been ordered to arrive on time at the agreed time.

On the other hand, consumers will feel the rise in fuel prices: "We'll probably have to raise our travel costs," says the master tinsmith and roofer.

He also expects his material suppliers to charge more for the journeys in the future.

Since there are already delivery bottlenecks due to the corona virus, Reim must continue to plan his orders carefully.

Michael Reim, master craftsman and CSU local council © Kornatz (archive)

In addition to the high fuel costs, the craftsman is expressly concerned about the increased expenditure on raw materials such as copper.

These are coveted investment properties in times of crisis.

"Then my materials will also be more expensive." But the CSU local council also emphasizes: "We actually complain at a high level.

We get upset about high fuel prices here and elsewhere people have to flee.” Reim thinks it's a good thing that the federal government is considering introducing a tank discount.

"But I don't know whether it's the last word." For the gas station operators, this means additional work.

• taxi driver

The taxi industry felt it as early as 2021 when many people took their cars on holiday in their own country due to the corona virus.

"Sales were okay in the summer, but the fact that we had fewer foreign tourists who came by plane and train had an effect," says Coskun Avcu from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Taxi Association.

"We were often stuck in traffic jams, and it took us up to an hour and a half for some trips that we would normally have made in half an hour."

According to their own statements, the domestic taxi trade recorded a drop in sales of 80 percent this winter.

At the same time, fuel costs rose – and the forthcoming increase in the minimum wage to twelve euros per hour is driving up personnel costs.

In view of these developments, the association in question has applied to the district office, which sets taxi fees, for a tariff increase, according to Avcu.

"We have not yet officially received such an application," said Stephan Scharf, spokesman for the district authority.

Due to the workload, the subject can only be dealt with after the G7 summit at the earliest.

• food suppliers

Beverage supplier Anton Sprenger also has something to nibble on at the moment.

The businessman expects his monthly fuel bill to increase from around 4,000 to 7,000 euros.

Nevertheless, for the Grainauer there is no question of adding anything to his prices.

"We want to avoid burdening our customers with that." Sprenger has contractually fixed purchase prices with the beverage companies that supply him.

"And they stay that way until an increase is agreed." In this respect, he has to bear the additional costs with his company.

His main aim now is to avoid frequent trips and to schedule customer visits in one area on one tour.

This means that one or the other will have to wait longer for their order.

But everyone understands that.

• transport services

The users of local public transport in Garmisch-Partenkirchen also need benevolent understanding.

When the timetable changes in May, the operators of the local buses, the municipal works, will probably have to compensate for the increased fuel costs with a tariff increase, announced plant manager Wodan Lichtmess.

Seven vehicles from the fleet are already running on low-CO2 biomethane, some of which is obtained from agricultural waste in the company's own sewage treatment plant.

Five are diesel powered.

However, the tariff increase for local buses has not yet been decided.

"The board of directors is meeting shortly before May and has to approve it."

Wodan Candlemas, head of the community works © Very (archive)

• care services

The situation is particularly difficult for outpatient nursing services.

Because the prices that they charge their clients for home care services and then settle with the payers are set by the nursing care insurance funds.

"We cannot pass on the additional costs for fuel to our customers," explains Michael Vollmer from Vollmer's outpatient nursing service in Farchant.

• driving schools

Uwe Seelmann from the ABC driving school in Garmisch-Partenkirchen can only add the extra spending at the pump to students who will register for driver training in the future.

He has to continue to charge everyone else for practical and theory lessons for what he has contractually agreed with them.

"The prices will have to go up, especially for motorcycle training, where the driving instructor is also on the road in the car," he is already announcing.

Seelmann wants to save fuel by having his students do their first practice on a recently purchased driving simulator rather than on the street.

The same goal can "perhaps" be achieved with the discussed speed limit.

But Seelmann wonders "where you can still drive fast in view of the many traffic jams".

So that petrol or diesel last as long as possible,