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The transport industry is suffering from high fuel costs: taxi companies in East Hesse are testing electric cars, shipping companies are linking prices to diesel values.
Region – The increased fuel prices are putting increasing pressure on the transport industry – from taxi companies to freight forwarders. But how do companies specifically deal with the higher costs, and what does that mean for customers? We asked around at various companies in the region.
Taxi company: Mahmood Chaudry, owner of Taxi Fulda, is clearly feeling the increase in fuel prices – but tries not to pass on the additional costs to his customers. “We want to remain attractive, otherwise many people will simply switch to the bus,” he explains. In the case of medical trips, the costs are covered by the health insurance companies anyway; the corresponding tariff has already been increased. Chaudry has not yet observed any changes in the driving behavior of customers. It is difficult to estimate whether there could be a shift in costs in the future – also because fuel prices could change again at any time.
Transport industry under pressure: high fuel prices force action
The company is open about the topic of alternative drives: an electric vehicle has been in use since December. As long as electricity prices remain stable, this makes economic sense, says Chaudry. However, the technology still reaches its limits for longer distances – for example when traveling to Frankfurt Airport. The vehicle is currently being tested until the end of the year. In the future, however, he could imagine a mixed fleet: “I think that one day we will end up with around 50:50.”
Other taxi companies in Fulda are also clearly noticing the effects of the increased fuel prices. Manahel A. Rafique, owner of the taxi company Taxi No. 1 Fulda, describes the effects of high fuel prices as clearly noticeable: “As a taxi company, we are permanently dependent on our vehicles – the increased costs are therefore immediately noticeable.” At the same time, demand has recently fallen and many trips are being avoided or replaced by cheaper alternatives.
Development of fuel prices
After the significant fall in oil prices on Wednesday, fuel prices fell noticeably – albeit only moderately. According to ADAC, the nationwide average price for E10 was 2.155 euros per liter, a loss of 3.3 cents. Diesel prices fell by 2.8 cents to 2.419 euros – the first decline after twelve increases in a row. The background is a massive decline in oil prices as a result of the tension in the Middle East; On Thursday they rose slightly again, but remained below the previous day's level.
On Thursday, despite a usual price jump at lunchtime, there were signs of a further decline: both before and after the increase, prices were below those of the previous day. Experts therefore expect falling average daily prices. However, it will probably take some time before the cheaper oil price fully reaches the filling stations – an effect known from previous crises: prices rise quickly, but only fall slowly. (dpa, lio)
The supervisory authority has already sent a letter regarding a possible tariff adjustment. Rafique emphasizes: “Basically, an adjustment is necessary in order to absorb the increased costs. At the same time, it leads to even more passengers dropping out – taxis are becoming increasingly unaffordable for many people.”
Although alternative drives such as electric vehicles are an important topic for the future, they are currently difficult to implement in practice. A lack of charging infrastructure at taxi ranks, long charging times and short ranges limited its use. The company is therefore primarily relying on plug-in hybrids, some of which have proven to reduce costs.
It is questionable whether the situation will ease in the short term: even if fuel prices fall, the overall costs would probably only fall partially. The industry is facing major challenges.
Driving licenses could become more expensive in the future
Driving schools: The Wallmann driving school in Fulda is also feeling the effects of high fuel prices, but has not yet made any price adjustments. An employee explains that an increase may soon become necessary if fuel costs do not fall – “so that the business continues to be profitable”. So far there has been no sign of a decline in registrations or extended breaks for learner drivers. The driving school does not want to focus on electric vehicles for the time being, as the demand for driving licenses for manual vehicles remains high. Most recently he had The so-called “Schnieder effect” caused a drop in driving license registrations.
A similar picture emerges at the Weber driving school in Fulda: owner Wolfgang Bleuel believes a price increase is likely in the medium term in order to cushion rising costs. Although the company has one electric car and has ordered another, this was not done for cost reasons, but because fewer and fewer learner drivers want to get a manual driving license. Bleuel can understand that young people are worried that they will no longer be able to afford to drive a car in the future – especially given the rising prices and what he believes to be an insufficiently developed electromobility network.
Freight forwarding company Random links prices to fuel costs
Shipping company: Michael Hamperl, regional branch manager of the Haulage trucking company, describes the rising diesel prices as a significant burden: around 15 percent of the total costs are fuel. “We can’t just absorb that,” he says. That's why the company works with a so-called diesel floater, in which the freight prices are transparently based on the current fuel costs – upwards and downwards. This model is being accepted by customers and partners.
Hamperl hardly sees any further savings potential: route planning and utilization have already been largely optimized. At the same time, transport volumes are declining slightly due to the weak economy. In order to become more independent of diesel, the company is increasingly relying on electric trucks and expanding its charging infrastructure. In the long term, however, rising fuel prices could mean that transport becomes so expensive that some products are no longer economically viable.
Rhine-Main transport association: According to a spokesman for the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV), the increased fuel prices are currently not having a direct impact on passengers in the region. You don't have to expect higher prices for the time being. He explains that the development of passenger demand depends on many factors – such as temporary construction sites on roads and rails, holiday periods and the weather. “Therefore, there are constant fluctuations in passenger demand,” said the spokesman. The numbers in regional traffic would be collected at larger intervals in order to determine the space required – individual causes of changes cannot be precisely determined in this way. (By Linda Scherdin and Noa Seibert)
