Australia: Gas drive-offs cost retailers millions

The number of individuals who pump gas and drive off without paying in the state of Victoria, Australia, has become so alarming that a state parliamentary inquiry recommended the government to launch an education campaign with the help of the police and fuel retailers to address the problem, according to the newspaper The Age.

The government inquiry revealed that there are 42,358 incidents of fuel drive-offs, deliberate and accidental, that took place from 2005-2014. More than 34,000 of the cases were unsolved.

But for the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association, the figures reached a whopping 192,000 in 2015.

The figures may vary but the impact has been the same for the fuel industry--high sales volume but surprisingly low profit margins.

The incidents of gas drive-off, the report further said, can cost retailers up to 20 million Australian dollars (approximately USD 15 million) each year.

The top municipalities with most drive-off incidents, according to the Victorian Parliament, are Brimbank with 4035 recorded drive-offs followed by the City of Casey on 3190, then Hume (2480), and Hobsons Bay (1628).