Drivers pumped at low price

Simon Nicholson took advantage of cheap petrol prices filling up at the Gull station on Te Ngae Rd. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

Queues of cars were lined up at some Rotorua petrol stations yesterday as prices dropped to a low of 142.9c.

Gull New Zealand dropped its prices by up to 20c a litre from 7am, its Te Ngae Rd station among those across the country dropping to 142.9c for regular 91 fuel and 65.9c for diesel.

The Mobil and Caltex stations on Te Ngae Rd quickly matched that price, as did BP Fairy Springs on the other side of town. All three Te Ngae Rd stations had queues stretching out on to the main highway most of the day as motorists took advantage of what Mobil Te Ngae owner Matt Ralm said were possibly the best recorded prices in 10 years.

He described it as "absolutely insane" as traffic backed up 100m down the road. Gull Te Ngae manager Virender Singh said the forecourt had been "crazy" and he had doubled staff numbers to keep up with the demand.

"With school holidays on it will be crazy throughout the day - busy as - it's a good Christmas present and bonus from Gull."

Lining up for cheap petrol prices at Gull Te Ngae. Photo/Andrew Warner

As well as discounting the fuel price during the promotion, Gull stations were giving away discount vouchers with up to $5 off fuel.

An informal survey by the Rotorua Daily Post found petrol prices across town yesterday afternoon ranging from 142.9c up to 179.9c for 91 and diesel from 65.9c to 106.9c. Andrew Hayward drove from Western Heights to the Te Ngae Rd Gull passing other service stations on the way in order to fill up his car for a Christmas holiday drive to the East Cape.

Simon Nicholson had read about the promotion online. On seeing the low price he brought his other car back to fill it up.

"It's fantastic - a great thing in time for Christmas when we're haemorrhaging cash at this time of year, so it's good to make some savings."

Gull general manager Dave Bodger said the company was "feeling the Christmas cheer".

"We know this can be an expensive time of year, and also that many people are filling up their tanks for summer road trips. This is our way of celebrating the festive season and thanking Kiwis for their loyalty this year," he said.