[crankcase]

Wow, amazing thread. Just mirrored my thoughts.

Well I felt we were better off investing the average 20 liters' worth of money (Rs. 1500) into the stock market for the average 6-10 day period between petrol hike and petrol hike-revision. With some smart pickings we might make up as much as the 10% 'saving'.

Why would I want to lock up my capital with the petrol company anyway? If those guys are raising prices, last thing I want to do is to give them my money. Thats like giving them a thank you note -- err, no thank you.

Hey, we live in a democracy, the govt was definitely going to do a rollback. And I always tell myself elections are just 2 years away

Oh and CNG rocks

[Suess]

"Dealing with the Devil's Excrement"

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Dealing with the Devil's Excrement

A very good article about the petrol/fuel price and its politics on world stage.

“The conclusion must be,” the commentator Amir Taheri wrote in 2006, “that those who buy oil get rich and those who sell it do not.”


So buy more to become rich!

[FlyingSpur]

Given the current popularity with memes, a little something I came up with

[born_free]

I really don't care about someone lining for hours at petrol pump/

But what irked me on that day when this happened is the fact that, it caused traffic jam on the main road, adjacent to the pump on my way to home.

Some car drivers were not giving us way , and were blocking us on intersections so that they can take a U turn and then do zig zag to petrol pump.
So when people do things like this, it starts to look cheap and that's why I agree to essence this thread.

Moreover, I was running low on the fuel that day, but I can still live with this as long as my tank is not 100% empty.

[apachelongbow]

Its a combination of the herd mentality of us Indians along with a real hardship caused to some folks. There are a lot of car/bike owners who have bought a petrol car/bike although they really cannot afford it.

Increasing inflation, freeze in salary hikes and now a jump in petrol prices is enough to upset the monthly budget of lot of such folks. Even a 7 Rs hike per liter may cause his monthly outflow to exceed Rs 500, which he may not afford. Such folks have nothing else to do but to rush to the petrol pump and fill up the next month's fuel so that he can escape one monthly cycle of increased prices!!!

I feel sorry for such people who are helpless to do anything else.

[mkpiyengar]

In case the tank is 3/4th empty then I prefer to fill before the hike because anyway need to refill in a day or two. Even in that case if there is waiting involved then I feel it is just not worth it.

If tank is half empty or less then makes no sense!!

Cheers
MKP

[ACM]

I guess there would have been quite a few deserted fuel pumps yesterday before the fuel price drop and those who could stretch it would have does so till the next day. It does feel odd to see people lining up at the pump right onto the road to fill up before a rise but then for some the 10% rise last time round was just too high to be acceptable, so we can't fault all who did it. But yes at a certain level it just isn't worth it.

[Zenster99]

This petrol price saga is getting to be absolutely ridiculous - they reduced the price in Delhi by Rs 2.4(something) - and that is GREAT, don't misunderstand me - but from what I read, global crude prices have fallen so much that they really should be reducing it by Rs 10.

And I read a news report in the Times of India yesterday that that they're thinking about having prices fluctuate daily as they apparently do in the US and other countries. Uh, ok, don't particularly get the gist there - I've lived in the US for 5 years, and haven't ever seen gas prices fluctuate on a DAILY basis. . . Anyway, I can just imagine the added drama if that really happens (I doubt it actually will, as it'll reduce the loot coming in via petrol sales for the powers that be).

Anyway, to address the OP's point, I agree with him. I voted for the second option i.e. the savings are too negligible. The OP explained how pretty well, and I'll add in my $.02 as well. I personally use CNG in my car for the most part, so only spend like Rs 500-700 per month on petrol (unless I'm traveling out of Delhi, in which case it's a different story altogether), and therefore don't particularly worry about the price rise anyway (except for the associated inflation that it brings with it )However, even if I DID use petrol as my primary fuel, it wouldn't make any sense whatsoever - I'd only save some miniscule amount and the hassle involved (to say nothing of the fuel I'd burn running the car A/C in Delhi heat) makes it absolutely NOT worth it.

As others have said, it's pretty much the herd mentality which causes chaos in these situations - monkey see, monkey do (person A getting fuel cheaper for Rs 2?? Why not me, despite the fact that I've gotta stand in an hour long queue for it??)

I wonder what the reaction to the next price hike (and we all know it's coming) will be - another Bharat Bandh? Read another colossal waste of time (and fuel spent sitting in massive jams), destruction of public infrastructure, all to apparently "pacify" or "fight for the rights of" the public, while the powers-that-be silently laugh all the way to the bank (and that goes for all of them, irrespective of what party they belong to).

OK, off my soap box for now!

Cheers,
Rahul

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by Zenster99

I wonder what the reaction to the next price hike (and we all know it's coming) will be - another Bharat Bandh? Read another colossal waste of time (and fuel spent sitting in massive jams), destruction of public infrastructure, all to apparently "pacify" or "fight for the rights of" the public, while the powers-that-be silently laugh all the way to the bank (and that goes for all of them, irrespective of what party they belong to).

OK, off my soap box for now!

Cheers,
Rahul

well well well! A really disgruntled citizen of the country. And its no rarity nowadays. One day or the other there is going to be a civil war against the goons that run the government. Then and only then will those family of looters realise that the supressed will not remain supressed for long.

Anyway, last night, on my way home, the usually busy petrol station was completely empty with me being the only customer. Only after I tanked up and came home did I see in the news channels that petrol prices have reduced. I lost an extra 120 bucks due to this, but hey, I was treated with extra care at the pump not to mention zero waiting time.

I would rather fill after the hike than waste my time, fuel, energy and my heart rate than stand in those horrendously long and unruly queues to tank up.

[Zenster99]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Anyway, last night, on my way home, the usually busy petrol station was completely empty with me being the only customer. Only after I tanked up and came home did I see in the news channels that petrol prices have reduced. I lost an extra 120 bucks due to this, but hey, I was treated with extra care at the pump not to mention zero waiting time.

I would rather fill after the hike than waste my time, fuel, energy and my heart rate than stand in those horrendously long and unruly queues to tank up.

Now thats the spirit! I'm sure the reduction in price must have come as a very welcome surprise to you, as Hyderabad seems to be one of the most expensive places in India to fuel up. . .