Britain's major supermarkets are reportedly considering the introduction of 'surge pricing' on fuel, in the same way Uber's taxi drivers can increase their fares during times of high demand. The RAC believes that such an initiative would leave a 'bad tasteî in the mouths of drivers up and down the country. Although artificial intelligence-based 'e-pricing' has already been utilised in the United States and in some other parts of Europe, motoring groups fear motorists would lose what little trust they have in retailers should supermarkets choose to change fuel prices daily 'by stealthî. Simon Williams, fuel spokesman, RAC, believes British drivers would take a very dim view of the practice, while FairFuelUK founder, Howard Cox warns that demand-inflated fuel pricing would 'exploitî small businesses and remove 'any consideration of fairnessî. 'It is odd that the supermarkets, who command high volume sales and claim to operate on low margins, would choose to manipulate prices in such a way at the risk of alienating customers,î added Williams. 'Fuel is a commodity product and its price is clearly promoted on forecourt totems to draw in customers. 'Therefore, increasing the price of fuel which they have already bought at one wholesale price seems very underhand. 'We closely monitor daily fuel prices to increase transparency and to encourage supermarkets and retailers to play fair with motorists. 'However, if they are able to increase the price during the course of a day then it blows a smokescreen over the true cost of fuel. 'Drivers already feel they are paying some of the highest fuel prices in Europe and any move which appears to increase retailers' profits and periods of high demand will be viewed with anger by the UK's 38 million motorists.î However, the surge-pricing concept could work to the advantage of fleet owners, according to Paul Hollick, chair of the Institute of Car Fleet Management. Mr Hollick says fuel vendors have been utilising data to adjust their forecourt prices for a number of years and suggests that those drivers savvy enough to adjust to peak and quiet pump periods could actually benefit from 'value' fuel.
