Worldwide, service stations (or gas stations) are very similar. It’s either a pay before or pay after and pump your fuel, so easy. Service stations in Australia aren’t much different. What can make them a bit more confusing is the price differences and fuel terms.
I once drove through a small town and found the two service stations there had price differences of A$0.18. Back in Canada, petrol prices are the same in most cities as the price is fixed to taxes. So it’s not a scramble to find the best price.
A few terms that aren’t shared globally are: LPG, E10, PULP and ULP. Read on to prevent servo station confusion or filling a vehicle with the wrong type of fuel.
Service Stations and How to Get the Best Price
Some of the most popular service stations in Australia are BP, Shell and Caltex. Regardless of the location or business name, most offer the same fuels and services.
What’s hard to distinguish is the best price among the stations, and this usually isn’t particular to specific companies. I have noticed the independent, or smaller companies such as Liberty tend to be on the cheaper side.
Saving A$0.04 a litre won’t make a big difference one time (savings is around A$3 on a bill). But if travelling for long period, it will add up eventually. Check out this list of service stations and more for ways to save on your fuel bill.
- Coles Express: has been long been one of the most expensive service stations in Australia according to a 2017 survey by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Coles offers discounts for grocery shoppers with bills over A$30. Just bring your receipt in when feeling up to redeem. During my travels, BP was also more expensive, but not always. I found BP often had free camps and other amenities, which kind of evened out the higher petrol price tag.
- Woolworths Caltex and Caltex: are the primary cheaper two out of the big name service stations. They also offer discounts for shopping at Woolworths and NRMA insurance members, respectively. The first is usually A$0.04 off a litre with a Woolworths grocery store receipt over a certain amount. There’s another A$0.04 discount if purchasing things inside the service station too.
- United, Liberty, independent and other small servos: tend to be the cheapest overall. It takes some research to find out which ones are cheapest. I recommend looking online or through apps to find the best fuel prices.
- Free apps and sites: are some of the best ways to find the cheapest fuel prices all over Australia. I love the NRMA app (I have a membership with my insurance), but it only works in New South Whales. Otherwise Fuel Map Australia is great. It’s updated by other users so sometimes not the most reliable, but it still gives a good price indication. Other popular apps are MotorMouth for outside NSW and Northern Territory. FuelCheck and MyFuel NT for NSW and NT only, respectively. And, the ACCC website is good for a website option.
- Discounts: There are minor petrol discounts as mentioned. The biggest are for Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express with a grocery receipt over a certain amount, otherwise some insurance companies give discounts for some servos—such as NRMA.
Fuel Types
Fuel types tend to be universal, but it’s easy to get confused in the first few days or weeks of travelling. If you’re hiring a vehicle, the company will likely run through the type of fuel for your vehicle. It’s still good to know what the other acronyms mean and what they’re for. This is a translation of Australian fuel types:
- Ethanol-blend (E10): this is a mixture of up to 10% ethanol in petrol. It can be a substitute for 91 in many cars. Many not all, check before filling!
- Standard unleaded petrol 91 (ULP): is the standard type of petrol (or gas) most vehicles take. And it’s likely the cheapest on this list next to ethanol.
- Premium unleaded petrol 95 or 98 (PULP): highest priced unleaded petrols. The 95 and 98 stand for the octane rating of the fuel. This is an index for the fuels resistance to burn early inside a vehicles engine, according to Canstar Blue. Normally sports cars and higher end vehicle use this.
- Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG): is usually lower cost and has a lower fuel economy than other fuels. It’s obvious if a vehicle takes this because the spot to insert fuel looks similar to that of a gas or propane tank.
- Diesel: is likely the most international terms on this list. Diesel vehicles are known for having the most (and darkest) smoke coming from the exhaust. Some recreational vehicles use this because it tends to be better on lower speeds at longer distances. Whereas petrol can be better for faster speeds, at shorter distances.
Fuel can only get your vehicle so far. Check out tips on finding the best mechanics in Australia and my guide to buying a vehicle to travel Australia to keep your vehicle on the road.
