[eyesice]

The HP pump is just outside my office. As soon as the hike news spread out in twitter, I was just about to leave the office. So I went to the pump and filled up my tank. I did not even wait for 2 mins. However if I had to wait for more than 5 minutes, I wouldn't have done that.

Slightly OT: I thought the first picture posted by GTO is kind of funny. A Brand new i10 with ribbons fills up it's tummy on the day of the petrol hike. Yikes!

[nandans2005]

Penny Wise Pound Foolish.

Pound or is it found ?

On the other hand, i get my car tanked up when i visit my clients in Hosur, since petrol is cheaper .

[selfdrive]

Ha ha, some of us BHPians had this discussion during the last hike too. It is silly season indeed. This does cause issues for the genuine few who might be running out of fuel.
I usually tank up when the needle hovers between the quarter and halfway mark, so I find it odd when people spend so much time getting to an waiting at a petrol pump and then filling up worth a few hundred in a car that they own/ drive regularly.
But to each his own I guess.

Originally Posted by GTO

My brother says he saw a Pulsar rider endure the queue to fill up a 100 bucks of petrol!

Maybe he was running short on fuel and didnt have enough cash on him. Or it could be a borrowed bike and he didnt want to top up for someone else. Quite a few possibilities there.

Originally Posted by eyesice

I thought the first picture posted by GTO is kind of funny. A Brand new i10 with ribbons fills up it's tummy on the day of the petrol hike. Yikes!

yeah, it looks like he is on his way back to the showroom to confirm if he is eligible for that '6 month petrol price hike matching' offer.

[Schoudhury]

That night i went to the pump where i fill diesel regularly as my tank was almost empty and guess what no one was there to fill diesel as everyone was busy attending the petrol queues.
When i asked about the same, i was told "dont worry Sir, no hikes in diesel prices so you can come later " .
Told him that i need to refill as my tank is empty , to that i was told please wait for someone to attend
On top of that , they were accepting only cash and no cards, on asking what's the reason, i was told for swiping the card it will take time so they are not accepting cards .

So it really doesn't make sense to go in the crisis mode the moment there is a rise in prices.

If this is the case ,next time there is gas cylinder price hike, does it mean people will go and buy all the gas cylinder and keep it home , no right then why with fuel.

Cheers

[scooby05]

It would be interesting to know, how many of the people who have voted for 2nd option own up and say, that they did go and fuel up, but found it a futile/wasted effort in hindsight!
The poll should have been split into 3 options.

[aniketi]

All points mentioned are right but for some people saving 100 Rs is also very important. For me its not worth waiting in line for an hour to save 100-300 bucks. But for some people its a worth wait.

Also there are some people who like to fill petrol in small chunks. Like they will fill 100 Rs petrol every 2-3 days in bike. Or Rs 500 petrol in car every week. So some people in line are these also who really need the petrol as they dont have much stock available with them

But some pumps keep it closed so as to earn some windfall profits is really bad. They should be banned.

[RavenAvi]

I was online and read about the price hike posted by a friend in a Facebook group.

Dashed out of the door and headed to the nearest fuel pump outlet (about 5 minutes distance) and tanked Pegasus (my City) up. There was a long queue of 2-wheelers but thankfully only 2-3 four-wheelers which made things easier. Pegasus had only about 1/4th tank of fuel left inside him, so damage to wallet was ~1800 rupees.

Saved about 200/- rupees but more importantly, I am glad I did so because since yesterday all the pumps inside my city have bamboo poles blocking across their ingresses, with a white cloth hanging on them with a sign "Petrol Khatm Hai!". Some of my friends are reporting that 2-3 pumps on the highway are also showing the same. I am getting reports from some of my local journalist friends that this situation will continue till the 31st, maybe stretch into the first week of June.

More than the savings, it's the availability (or lack of it) which assumes importance here. Government measures aside, fuel pump owners are also a dastardly lot and god knows what is happening behind the scenes.

A friend also mentioned that it's in the news that places like Chennai are being hit by acute petrol shortage as well.

Yes, I wasted about 30 minutes of my life that evening (had Pegasus shut off till the coast ahead was clear to drive to the pump, so saved some petrol by avoiding unnecessary idling) but I saved a bit of money and most importantly, have a near tank full of petrol on these days when there is no petrol available in my city.

Today I saw many car and 2-wheeler owners run about in despair from pump to pump (even a few cars have been ditched outside the pumps by their owners, surely their fuel tanks have gone empty) and I am really thankful that I took that decision. Even at 12 kms to the liter, I am good for the next 470-480 odd kilometers inside the city.

Yes, waiting outside a petrol pump in a long queue before a price hike might sound ridiculous, but not filling up then and face this situation now would be more ridiculous. Today, people are running around with money in their pockets, and not a drop of petrol is to be found anywhere around here. I am sure most of them will be ruing the missed chance now.

[girishglg]

In a lighter vein, it is good that many bunks shut shop as soon as they hear about price hike and open it only the next day in effect saving people from queueing outside wasting energy and time. (Although the bunks make a neat profit with the difference in rates)

Originally Posted by eyesice

Slightly OT: I thought the first picture posted by GTO is kind of funny. A Brand new i10 with ribbons fills up it's tummy on the day of the petrol hike. Yikes!

+1 on the pic, one can see a Accord kissing (nearly) the back of Alto. Wonder why all this hassle and tension from the entire exercise just to save a few bucks.

[scopriobharath]

I Voted "The saving is too negligible considering the effort, time etc. It's not worth it "

My take on this -

I prefer to pay the hike. Lets take my Santro. I fill in when the needle reaches the "half" tank mark. My santro would take 20 litres at the MAX. Hike was say 8 rs for easier calculation.

20 X 8 = Rs 160/-

For a gain of this 160, I will lose one / all of the following

• Waste Fuel on idling (say 1 litre)
• Adding pollution by idling
• Waste of time (Long Queues)
• Frustration builds (A 2-Wheeler will squeeze past you. Average People dont have the courtesy to que up in line.)
• No Guarantee that I will be able to tank-up (Fuel Hoarding by non-COCO Pump-Operator)

[Suess]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

I was online and read about the price hike posted by a friend in a Facebook group.

Dashed out of the door and headed to the nearest fuel pump outlet (about 5 minutes distance) and tanked Pegasus (my City) up. ...

Yes, waiting outside a petrol pump in a long queue before a price hike might sound ridiculous, but not filling up then and face this situation now would be more ridiculous. Today, people are running around with money in their pockets, and not a drop of petrol is to be found anywhere around here. I am sure most of them will be ruing the missed chance now.

But if you haven't done that and similarly others too haven't done that we wouldn't be facing any problem/sortage at first place! or Do we? So, there you have defied your own logic.

[sumathindra]

You are right GTO. On the eve the hike was announced I was practically preaching to my colleagues not to que up as the savings will be marginal. Some listened and some did not. In my opinion it is always a knee jerk reaction when the hikes are announced. I guess this is normal behaviour with most of the motorists.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by Suess

But if you haven't done that and similarly others too haven't done that we wouldn't be facing any problem/sortage! or Do we? So, there you have defied your own logic.

Maybe, but don't tell me that any one of those apparently "empty" pumps doesn't have any petrol in their storage sumps.

And besides why would the pump owners sell out all their petrol at reduced prices to us back then and risk this situation, rather than shut off then and sell it at higher prices today?

Something is fishy here, and it smells, and it sure isn't petrol.

[ayushSRV]

Originally Posted by GTO

My brother says he saw a Pulsar rider endure the queue to fill up a 100 bucks of petrol![/b]

So, your brother was in the queue, too. :-p
On a serious note, yes standing in the queue and wasting 2+ hours doesn't make sense to met, too.

[bluevolt]

My Vote is "The saving is too negligible considering the effort, time etc. It's not worth it".

BUT

this view is of BHPIan (BHPIan = petrol head, enthusiast and not a common commuter) who also voted in this thread with similar sort of discussionhttp://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-finances.html

BUT

For the common man of India who actually is becoming uncommon, saving of even 10 rupees matters!

[Suess]

Petrol price to come down to Rs 71.92 in Delhi; IOC hints at up to Rs 1.50 cut - The Economic Times

So good news at least for Delhi if you have been hoping and waiting for it. Now you can again go an fill the tank full!

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Maybe, but don't tell me that any one of those apparently "empty" pumps doesn't have any petrol in their storage sumps.

And besides why would the pump owners sell out all their petrol at reduced prices to us back then and risk this situation, rather than shut off then and sell it at higher prices today?

Something is fishy here, and it smells, and it sure isn't petrol.

Sorry Avi, i don't understand their business model so cannot comment on that but may be the bunk owners get the commision on sold "quantity" of fuel not the price of fuel! I don't know! Just a possibility however absurd it may be.