Tag Archives: RAC

Industry News, Latest News

The RAC Supports Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s Bike4Life Ride Out and Festival

The RAC is kindly supporting local lifesaving Midlands Air Ambulance Charity by becoming an official event partner for the pre-hospital emergency service’s highly anticipated Bike4Life 2022 Ride Out and Festival.

The event, which sees 3,500 bikers participate in a 23-mile convoy from Meole Brace in Shrewsbury to the home of Bike4Life, RAF Cosford, is due to take place on Sunday 24th April 2022. This year, the return of the event not only sees it officially mark its tenth anniversary, but the charity is pleased to announce that The RAC are official event partners for the 2022 event.

Pam Hodgetts, corporate partnerships manager for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said: “Bike4Life has been a key event in our fundraising events calendar for ten years. This year, we expect it to be bigger and better than ever.

“Our aircrew frequently attend incidents involving bikers so to see them out in convoy, raising awareness of the work we do, is an unbelievable spectacle. We really appreciate the support of The RAC, whose crews also attend those in need of assistance at the roadside.

“By becoming an event partner, The RAC will kindly help cover event costs, meaning that we will be able to make even more lifesaving missions possible in the future.”

Phil Ryan, business roadside managing director for The RAC, added: “Bikers are amongst the most vulnerable road-users and this important event highlights and recognises the vital role Midlands Air Ambulance Charity plays in bringing hospital level care to critically ill and injured patients every year.

“We could not be happier to pledge our support yet again and hope bikers turn out in strong numbers to raise as much money as possible for the pre-hospital emergency service.”

It costs just £10 to take part, with the proceeds helping to make missions possible for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Numbers are strictly limited to 3,500 bikers and places are allocated on a first come first serve basis. To book, visit: bike4lifefest.com

To find out more about Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s vital, lifesaving work in your local area, visit midlandsairambulance.com and follow the organisation on social media.

For information on the RAC visit www.rac.co.uk

Industry News, Latest News

RAC calls on biggest retailers to cut price of petrol as wholesale costs dip

Following a dramatic dip in the wholesale price of petrol in the last few days the RAC is calling on fuel retailers to play fair with drivers and cut prices at the pumps.

RAC Fuel Watch data* shows the average price of unleaded is 6p a litre too expensive. Despite the recent wholesale price reductions, the price of petrol on forecourts has continued to go up – rising 3p a litre since the start of the month – and now stands at 147.27p. However, the RAC believes the average price should be nearer 141p a litre which means drivers are having to unfairly fork out an extra £3.50 a tank.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “In the last few days the wholesale price of petrol has fallen steeply which means the biggest retailers are in a great position to cut prices and ease the burden being felt by drivers throughout the UK who are paying £80 for a full 55-litre tank.

“As the big four supermarkets are responsible for selling 45% of all the country’s fuel, they are constantly buying new supply so they’re able to pass on the savings to customers straightaway unlike smaller retailers who tend only to buy in fuel once a fortnight.

“The longer they hold off doing the right thing, the more money they make on every litre they sell and the worse off drivers are. Unfortunately, during Covid we’ve seen retailers increase their margins by 2p a litre from the norm of 5p to 7p. However, the recent downward wholesale movement means they’re now taking averaging more than 10p a litre.

“This seems very harsh on drivers considering how many are struggling financially because of the inflated cost of filling up. RAC research has found that around half of drivers (46%) will be forced to cut other household spending as a result of petrol and diesel prices continuing to rise beyond their current record high levels.

“Unfortunately, the biggest retailers appear to have failed the transparency test as they are continuing to move prices up when they should now be doing the opposite just because there’s public acceptance that energy prices are rising. This isn’t acceptable but sadly consumers have no power to object. It’s also the case that no one is watching fuel prices as closely as the RAC which is why we’re highlighting the issue today.”

The price of diesel should also be reduced. Now standing at an average of 150.66p, the downward trend in the wholesale price means at least 4p a litre should be shaved off the forecourt price, taking it to 146p a litre.

Simon Williams added: “While we’ve seen reductions in the cost of pure wholesale petrol and diesel, there’s also been a big reduction in the wholesale cost of their bio components which is significant because both now contain up to 10%. This alone should lead to a 2p a litre reduction in the price drivers pay at the pumps.”

Find out more about UK petrol and diesel prices on the RAC website.