Petrol is expensive! Or is it?

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By John Bates: Like most people, I suppose, I thought that petrol was expensive, that is until I did some sums. From the internet (and memory) I took the price of petrol and the average weekly wage for the U.K in 1959/60 and today's equivalents. I then worked out how many GALLONS of petrol could be bought for the weekly wage if there were no deductions and ONLY petrol was bought with it, in 1959/60 and compared it with today. It seems that the average weekly wage in 1959/60 was around £14 (£700 per annum). Today it is around £510 per week (around £26,500).
The answers? In 1959/60, at around 4/- (20p) per gallon, one could have bought 70 gallons of petrol with a week's wages. In 2013 one could buy 82 gallons (assuming petrol at 134p per litre or £6.23 per gallon and that one gallon equals 4.55 litres).
So, is it expensive? No. At least, not as expensive as it was all those years ago. Bottled water? Now that IS expensive. One wonders why anyone would buy it!
(photo by Rutger Booy – Trabants waiting in line to fill up)

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