Why crowd-sourced petrol apps can’t always be trusted
![](http://samove.raa.com.au/app/uploads/2019/08/6dhpetrol.jpg)
How can we ensure prices are accurate?
RAA General Manager of Government and Public Policy, Jayne Flaherty, said the only sure-fire solution to this problem was the introduction of mandatory real-time petrol pricing. “Unlike crowd-sourced apps and websites, which rely on public input, mandatory real-time fuel pricing stipulates all service stations must provide real-time prices for their fuel,” she said. “Consumers have transparency to compare and track pricing in real-time, knowing that what they see online is what they’ll get at the bowser.”![Real-time fuel pricing.](https://samove.raa.com.au/app/uploads/2019/08/iStock-172787836.jpg)
Mandatory real-time fuel pricing stipulates all service stations must provide real-time prices.
Why hasn’t mandatory real-time petrol pricing been implemented in SA?
RAA has had numerous meetings with the government about mandatory real-time fuel pricing and was offered the opportunity to develop and manage its own fuel pricing database. Unfortunately RAA doesn’t have the expertise required to develop and manage the system. In states where mandatory real-time fuel pricing has been implemented, it has been done so by the government in collaboration with technology specialists.RAA has had numerous meetings with the government about mandatory real-time fuel pricing.
What’s happening interstate?
In the NT, NSW and QLD, real-time fuel pricing is already mandatory. Last financial year, the NT’s fuel pricing app – MyFuelNT – delivered cheap, accurate fuel prices to 216,848 motorists. Over in NSW, more than half a million people downloaded the state’s FuelCheck app – that’s a lot of savings at the bowser. Queensland was the most recent state to adopt mandatory real-time fuel pricing, having started a two-year trial model last December.![Queensland was the most recent state to adopt mandatory real-time fuel pricing.](https://samove.raa.com.au/app/uploads/2019/08/iStock-147337387.jpg)
Queensland was the most recent state to adopt mandatory real-time fuel pricing.