Businesses across the West of England say rising fuel costs are putting increasing pressure on their finances, with petrol prices approaching £2 a litre in some areas.
The continuing conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global oil supplies, while shipping through key routes including the Strait of Hormuz has also been affected.
Higher wholesale fuel costs are leaving retailers with a difficult choice: increase prices for customers or absorb the extra cost and see their profit margins shrink.
Pieter-Jon Allis, owner of Stroud Taxi in Gloucestershire, described the situation as a “complete nightmare” and said his business was under “continual pressure to lowball” its prices.
Global oil prices have risen above $108 (£80) a barrel, compared with around $70 (£52) in June 2026 — an increase of roughly 50%.
Rural areas facing higher prices
Fuel prices vary significantly across the region, with rural areas often paying more because of higher transport costs, lower sales volumes and less competition between filling stations.
In Bristol, the average petrol price is currently around £1.70 per litre. However, some stations in Hullavington, Wiltshire, are charging as much as £2.40.
A station in Upton Noble, Somerset, has raised its price to £1.86 per litre, while another near Whaddon is charging £1.96.
Taxi firm: ‘Complete nightmare’
For taxi operators, fuel is one of the biggest day-to-day expenses.
“Obviously it’s a concern because our chief business cost on a day-to-day basis is fuel. I think we’re headed for pretty tough times ahead,” Allis said.
He said at least half of the calls received by his business were now requests for quotes, with customers comparing prices against other services including Uber.
“We’re under a continual pressure to lowball ourselves and do prices we were doing 15 years ago, even though fuel prices are at an all time high,” he said.
“It’s just a complete nightmare in that respect.”
Susannah Moffat, who runs Ledbury Road Services in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, said increasing prices risked driving customers away.
“The last thing we want is to lose more trade” by putting the prices up, she said.
“The only thing we can do is keep cutting our margin, time and time again, to try and keep the price increases to a minimum,” she said.
Moffat said the business was increasingly “relying” on income from shop sales to help offset the pressure on fuel margins.
“It’s a difficult business to be in at the moment. Seems like there’s no end in sight really, but hopefully it won’t be forever,” she added.
Blood bike charity feeling the impact
The rising cost of fuel is also affecting charities that depend on vehicles to provide essential services.
Freewheelers Blood Bikes, which supports the NHS by transporting lifesaving medical products, said it was currently “sucking up the impact in our reserves”.
The charity travels more than 220,000 miles (354,055 km) each year across Bristol, Somerset, Bath and west Wiltshire.
“We’ve spent £17,000 on fuel per year over the last couple of years,” said Chris MacDonald, chair of the Bristol branch.
“This current year it’s heading towards £22,000, so it’s a significant jump.”
Freewheelers is funded entirely through public donations and fundraising.
The charity said that if fuel prices continued to increase, it could eventually be forced to reduce the number of “low priority” callouts it accepts.
“But we’re not there yet. We can sustain the current situation for a while by digging into our reserves,” MacDonald assured.