It’s early evening, you’re tired, and you almost automatically pull into your regular petrol station. You can tell that the windscreen is dirty, the warning light is almost empty, and you’re already thinking about dinner. You look up and see something new: a clear label next to the price per litre that has information you haven’t seen before.
You blink, read it again, and all of a sudden, the bill you were going to pay seems… different. the bill you were going to pay seems… different. Not as secretive.
Every pump will need that little bit of text starting on February 12. And it could change the way you think about petrol without you even knowing it.
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What goes on at the pump on February 12?
Gas stations will show more than just the price per litre and the type of fuel starting on February 12. They will have to put new required information right at the pump so that drivers can finally see what they are really paying for.
This new label will show things like taxes, margins, and sometimes an estimate of the cost per 100 km, depending on the car. The number on the screen isn’t just a number anymore; it has a story and a structure.
For the first time, the pump starts to talk back. the pump starts to talk back. to talk back.
Picture a crowded station on a Monday morning. There are a few cars lined up. In the back of one car is a parent and their kids, in the front is a delivery driver who is in a hurry, and in the back is a retiree who is counting every euro. They all look up at the same pump, but they haven’t really known where their money goes until now.
The new label tells the driver how much of the price is taxes, how much is the raw product, and how much is for shipping and making money. That one look can change your mind from “fuel is expensive, period” to “oh, so that’s where the money goes.”
Just one small piece of information can make you feel less in the dark. can make you feel less in the dark. feel less in the dark.
This change didn’t just happen for no reason. For months, consumer groups and government officials have been asking for more transparency, especially since petrol prices can change without warning. When people don’t understand, trust goes down quickly.
The measure’s goal is to rebuild some trust between drivers, brands, and the state by making stations show clearer breakdowns at the pump. It’s a way of saying, “Here’s the bill, queue by queue, right where you pay.”
It won’t magically lower prices, but it will give you something just as useful: clarity. It won’t magically lower prices, but it will give you something just as useful: clarity. give you something just as useful.
How to read this new information and get the most out of it
When you see the new labels, the first thing you should do is stop for three seconds before you start pumping. Look at the board that your fuel hose is attached to. You can usually see the kind of fuel, the price per litre, a breakdown of the price, and sometimes an estimate of how much it will cost to drive a certain distance or use a certain amount of fuel.
Start with the most important thing: taxes. That’s where the shock usually happens. After that, check out the part that talks about crude oil or wholesale fuel, and then check out the station’s own margin. You don’t need a calculator. Your only goal is to find out what part of the market moves when prices go up and down every week.
Those three seconds can help you become a much smarter fuel customer over time. become a much smarter fuel customer over time. smarter fuel customer over time.
Many drivers will react without thinking, “I don’t have time for this; I just want to fill up and leave.” That makes a lot of sense. You already have a lot of small screens and numbers in your life that need your attention.
This small change, though, can help you save money over the course of a year. You might notice that one station always has a higher margin than another that is only a few blocks away. Or that the price of oil around the world isn’t always the same as what you see at the petrol station. *Your tank is more like a dashboard than a black box.
To be honest, no one reads every sign on the forecourt every day. But if you read this one every now and then, you can see patterns.
Julien, 38, who drives 70 km to work every day, says, “I used to just complain when I paid.” “Now I quickly check the label. One day, I saw that one of the stations on my route had a much bigger margin than the others. I changed stations. Over the course of the year, that’s a lot of full tanks saved.
New list of prices
- You can see all three things at once: taxes, raw goods, and profit.
- Looking at stations next to each other Helps you choose where to fill up based on more than just habit.
- Price per mile It makes you feel like you’re really there when you see it: how much your trip really costs.
- Tax openness Changes vague anger into a well-informed opinion about government policies.
- Regular quick checks Changes a simple task into a quiet long-term savings plan.
A small sign that could change the way we talk about petrol
This new information that you have to give at the pump won’t make your next full tank suddenly cheap. The numbers will still hurt some days. But they could hurt in different ways. You’ll have clear lines to point to, numbers to compare, and questions to ask instead of just a vague annoyance.
You could talk about it at work, with your mechanic, or with the neighbour who always knows of a petrol station that is farther away and cheaper. Some people will take pictures of the labels and post them on social media, pointing out differences between brands or regions.
Starting on February 12, the pump will be a small public square where people can watch, talk about and even argue about the price of petrol.
