To fill up now – or later …

The current drop in the fuel price is good news for consumers, but how long will it last? At some stage it will probably rise again, and, when it does, South African motorists will no doubt be lined up at the pumps to top up before the price goes up.

However, there’s now a convenient, free app that motorists can download to their and Apple or Android smartphones, which will calculate whether to fill up before or after the fuel price changes, and how much could be saved.

Users simply input the size of the car’s fuel tank and what fuel it requires and the app does the rest; sending notifications of a fuel price change, when you should fill up and how much you can save.

The app is simple and minimalistic, displaying the current price of all fuel types; predictions on the upcoming fuel price; and LRP, diesel and ULP prices for both inland and coastal regions.

FillApp uses information available on agency and government websites to predict price changes. Co-creator Lance Jenkin says that there is a lot of publicly available information that is not necessarily “accessible” to the public.

“People are not able to access this data easily and efficiently. So we did the time, crunched the code and came out with an elegant product that will, hopefully, add a touch of convenience to everyone’s lives,” he says.