45% Of UK Drivers Cut Vehicle Journeys As Fuel Prices Surge

A total of 45 percent of UK adults have cut back on non-essential journeys in a vehicle amid soaring fuel prices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in its latest survey published on Friday.

As in many other countries, UK gasoline prices have jumped to records this year, with prices setting the biggest daily jump in 17 years in early June.

The average UK gasoline price has been around £1.90 per liter this week, or the equivalent of more than $8.80 per U.S. gallon.

Rallying gasoline prices compound the cost-of-living crisis in the UK, where energy bills jumped in April, gasoline is at record highs, and energy bills are set to surge further this autumn.

According to the ONS, around 9 in 10, or 91 percent, adults continued to report their cost of living had risen over the past month. This compares with 88 percent of adults reporting an increase in their cost of living in the previous survey between the end of May and early June.

The most common reasons given by adults who reported their cost of living had increased continued to be an increase in the price of food shopping (93 percent), gas or electricity bills (86 percent), or the price of fuel (80 percent), the latest survey showed.

Moreover, an increase in gas and electricity bills was the main reason for worry, reported by around half (51 percent) of adults whose cost of living had increased. Around 2 in 10 were most worried about the price of fuel—20 percent in the latest survey period, compared to 15 percent in the previous period. The price of food was the main reason for worry for 18 percent of respondents in the latest period, up from 13 percent in the previous period, the UK’s statistics office said.