Fears fewer people in Suffolk learning to drive due to the rising cost of fuel
As the cost of fuel continues to rise many are having to make difficult choices
Last updated 13th Jun 2022
The cost of fuel continues to rise, and people are having to make difficult choices on what they spend their money on.
We spoke to Jonathan Abbott, a driving instructor with DTS Driver Training Ipswich, to see how these costs are impacting business.
"If we have to increase our prices, then people will have to save for longer to afford lessons.
"We do come across people that actually need a car for a new job they may be getting and that obviously has to be put on hold because they have to save some money to learn to drive.
"We all know, you know, even previous to these increases, learning to drive is not a cheap thing to do.
"And it's just getting more and more unobtainable because of rising fuel costs.
"I personally have had two customers that have said, they are going to put lessons on hold, due to the rising cost of general living, fuel being one of the main areas.
"If the prices do continue to increase then, yeah, there is reason for concern for driving instructors.
"We obviously need fuel for our jobs and if prices carry on going up, our prices will have to keep going up. This making our services more inaccessible for some people.
"Personally, I fill up three times a week, sometimes four.
"I used to pay about ÂŁ45 to fill up my petrol tank. I'm now looking at ÂŁ58 pounds. ( ÂŁ174-ÂŁ232 a week).
"It is affecting us all around. Generally it is a struggle, but, we have to get on with it.
"I don't want to get political, but when you think about fuel for cars, various taxes take up almost 50% of what you put into the tank, the retailer actually doesn't get that much from it.
"So it's, it's down to the government to try and help out a little bit more".