Orange tour operator Nicole Farrell launched her award winning business Country Food Trails in 2020, running private tours to Orange's foodie destinations in her mini-van.
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Offering small group sizes was a winning formula, especially during COVID, but as fuel prices have soared, so too have her costs.
She's absorbed those costs until now, but is reaching a point where she's considering changing things, even with the 22.1 cents per litre temporary cut to the fuel excise announced in last week's budget.
"We often take only one couple, so combining the petrol price rises with the fact we seem to be coming out the other side of COVID, I'm thinking of doing tours where you put a few couples together who don't know each other, to try and keep the costs down and make the experience a little more cost effective."
Operator of Orange Wine Tours, Les Ridgeway, who runs three tour buses, has seen his monthly fuel bill rise by almost a third since the latest fuel price hikes, but his prices have stayed the same.
"If you don't pass it on to your customers because you don't want to look expensive, you've got to absorb that. For a small business that's a huge impact."
He says the cut to the fuel excise will help, but "not long term."
"Fuel prices are constantly fluctuating, especially out here in the country.
"I think their should be more consideration to those in country areas. It's OK to cut the excise in the city, but they don't travel as far as we do out here."
The federal government announced in the budget that the fuel excise would be cut for six months from 12.01am on March 30 to help bring soaring fuel prices down for motorists.
For petrol and diesel, the rates will be reduced from 44.2 cents to 22.1 cents per litre.
The government said the lower fuel excise rate is expected to flow through to most service stations across Australia within a couple of weeks as fuel stock is turned over. Urban areas where fuel stocks are turned over more quickly will see the drop before regional and remote areas.
On Monday, less than a week after the announcement, the average unleaded fuel (U91) price in Orange was 192.9 cents per litre, down from a peak of $2.07 on March 15.
Prices for unleaded fuel ranged from 188.9 cents a litre (Metro Lucknow, Mitchell Highway) to 196.9 cents a litre (Ampol Orange Diesel Stop, Elsham Avenue) while diesel prices ranged from 197.9 (Metro Lucknow, Mitchell Highway) to 209.9 cents per litre (Lowes Orange, Peisley Street) on Monday.
Operator of the Metro Lucknow Sri Rangineni said the excise cut had been passed on to customers at service stations across Orange almost immediately after it was announced.
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