The fuel station a driver chooses could make a difference of more than GH¢2,000 in annual fuel costs, even when the vehicle, fuel consumption and distance travelled remain exactly the same.
A comparison of current pump prices at four fuel stations shows that the difference between buying from a lower-priced station and a higher-priced one can add up significantly over time.
For a driver using about 8 litres of fuel a day, five days a week, the weekly consumption comes to roughly 40 litres, or about 2,080 litres a year.
For petrol, the difference is particularly noticeable between Star Oil and Shell. At the prices considered, petrol sells for GH¢16.64 per litre at Star Oil, compared with GH¢17.79 at Shell.
That GH¢1.15 difference per litre means a driver buying 2,080 litres a year would spend about GH¢2,392 more at Shell than at Star Oil.
The difference is smaller between JP and Total Energy. Petrol is priced at GH¢16.45 per litre at JP and GH¢17.19 at Total Energy, a difference of GH¢0.74 per litre.
At the same annual consumption, that translates into about GH¢1,539.20 more a year for the driver buying from Total Energy.
Diesel also shows a difference, although the gap is narrower in the comparisons.
At GH¢18.44 per litre at JP versus GH¢18.99 at Total Energy, a diesel user would pay GH¢0.55 more per litre at Total Energy, or about GH¢1,144 more over a year at the same consumption level.
Between Star Oil and Shell, diesel prices of GH¢18.46 and GH¢18.68 per litre, respectively, leave a difference of GH¢0.22 per litre. Over 2,080 litres, that amounts to about GH¢457.60 more a year at Shell.
The figures show how a seemingly small difference at the pump can become a sizeable expense when multiplied by the volume of fuel purchased over weeks and months.
But the GH¢2,392 difference is based on just 8 litres a day. For motorists who drive more, the cost of choosing a higher-priced station rises with every additional litre purchased.
A driver using 10 litres a day, for example, would consume 2,600 litres a year under the same five-day-a-week assumption. At a GH¢1.15 per-litre difference, that would widen the annual gap to GH¢2,990.
For commercial drivers, businesses operating vehicle fleets and companies that rely on fuel for generators and other equipment, the difference could therefore be much larger because of their higher fuel volumes.
This is becoming more relevant as fuel prices have become a regular headache for motorists and businesses, making even small differences at the pump harder to ignore.
The vehicle may be the same. The journey may be the same. The amount of fuel consumed may be the same. But where that fuel is bought can still change the final bill, at the end of the day, the week, the month and, cumulatively, over the year.
