Last school holidays Dubbo's petrol prices were among the most expensive in the state, but as the latest break comes to an end the city's prices have done an about-turn to rank in NSW's top 10.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the last week of June, Dubbo's average diesel price was the 10th-worst out of the NRMA's 54 locations monitored in the Bowser Buster. In the final week of September, Dubbo was ranked at the 11th-cheapest for diesel and sixth for unleaded.
Unleaded petrol was an average of 147.5 cents per litre for the week ending September 28, compared to 155.9 cents per litre in June, while diesel was recently recorded at 154 cents per litre, down 9.1 cents from the middle of the year.
It is refreshing news for families who travelled during the holidays, but NRMA Western NSW director Graham Blight said there was no definitive answer for the decrease.
"Dubbo is a lot better than it used to be 12 months ago and we're not sure why," Mr Blight said.
"The prices go up and down. It depends on how much competition there is at the time."
Mr Blight said the most likely reason was due to increased competition in the area, probably from an independent seller.
His advice to ensure Dubbo motorists continue to be rewarded at the pump is to take to Facebook and Twitter.
"The thing that people can do is we're encouraging people to use social media to spread the word about prices," Mr Blight said.
"If you tell your mates and they tell their mates where the cheapest prices are, they'll go 'oh, this is good' and they'll hopefully keep their prices down."
Goulburn recorded the best unleaded price at the end of September at 140.6 cents per litre, while Sydney was the best place for diesel at 150.6 cents.
While petrol stations would traditionally raise their prices when they knew there would be increased travellers, Mr Blight said it was no longer common practice.
"If you see a good price now I'd fill up. Christmas, Easter, long weekend, every time there was a holiday they'd put the prices up but they're less inclined to do that lately."
He said there were some simple things motorists can do to reduce their petrol costs further.
"Check your car, make sure your tyre pressure is right, remove excess weight. If you're not going to use those golf clubs in the back of the car, take them out."
He also advised motorists who were travelling not to deviate from their regular routines.
"If you get up at 2am in the morning your body's saying 'I'm not meant to be up' and you're more likely to fall asleep," Mr Blight said.
