A CLEVELAND man says motorists are being taken for a ride by fuel retailers who are charging about 45 cents more per litre for petrol in the Redlands than they are in the greater Brisbane area.
Brian McDonald said he wanted to see the state and local government probe fuel retailers on why prices had skyrocketed in the Redlands over last 18 to 24 months.
His request comes as RACQ analysis of fuel data revealed price hikes had almost doubled to 40 cents per litre since February last year.
RACQ spokeswoman Renee Smith said fuel retailers were gouging during the south-east Queensland price cycle and attempting to normalise excessive hiking.
Mr McDonald said large disparities between petrol prices in the Redlands and Brisbane were seen every week by those travelling between the two areas.
"(Last week) at Wynnum and Gumdale they were around a $1.27 whereas at Cleveland they were at $1.72," he said.
"It is really in the past 18 months to two years that we have gone from having price parity to a price rip-off.
"I think it is something that the mayoral candidates, council candidates and state government could look at.
"You have got the potential of people running for positions to actually go and talk to the fuel retailers and say 'please explain what is going on?'.
"I am not against anybody making a dollar buy hey, be a bit fair about it."
A BP spokesman said international product prices and competition between service stations affected value at the pump.
"There are also other factors including exchange rates, taxes and local operating costs," he said.
"When it comes to retail fuel pricing, our aim is to always be competitive and attract customers to our sites."
The spokesman did not comment on why fuel prices were more expensive in the Redlands than Brisbane.
Ms Smith said drivers should turn their back on servos trying to rip them off, particularly those that raised prices by more than 40 cents per litre overnight.
"These fuel companies are unfairly taking advantage of customers while they rake in hefty retail margins," she said.
"It's not right, it's not fair and we don't want motorists to accept this behaviour or reward it.
"Drivers have all the knowledge and power with access to transparent fuel price information, with prices published in real-time on apps and websites like RACQ's Fair Fuel Finder.
"We need motorists to use this information to shop smart and refuse to give these fuel companies their business to drive down prices."
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission are advising motorists to hold off on filling up, with prices expected to drop in the coming days.
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