Google Maps adds UK petrol and diesel prices

Google Maps will show petrol and diesel prices at UK forecourts, helping motorists compare costs as fuel prices remain high. From Thursday, searches for forecourts will display their locations and prices, using data supplied through the government’s Fuel Finder scheme.

UK forecourts are legally required to add prices to Fuel Finder within 30 minutes of changing them. The feature arrives days after diesel topped £2 per litre for the first time. The RAC’s policy head, Simon Williams, called that “a price threshold no one wanted to cross”. Diesel has since fallen by 2p, but the AA says an average 55-litre tank still costs about £110; the equivalent petrol tank costs about £96.

Ofcom says 77% of Britain’s adult population uses Google Maps for general navigation. Fuel prices are also available in Waze, used by about 2 million people in the UK. Apple Maps does not show fuel prices.

Some experts question Fuel Finder’s coverage and accuracy. PetrolPrices director Clare Lafferty said the company supplements the government feed with other sources, citing sites that have not registered or do not update prices on time. PetrolPrices identified 200 forecourts in September that it believed had not updated diesel prices promptly.

Google Maps and Waze product partnerships director Sarah-Jayne Williams said Google would check the data independently and show a price only when confident it is current. The Retail Motor Industry Federation said its members were complying with the scheme. Fuel Finder launched in February; then-chancellor Rachel Reeves said it could save households £40 per year.