From Slovenia to San Marino: Italians queuing for a full tank
Motorists who live close to the borders choose the petrol station on either side of the border as the price of fuel rises or falls as decided by the relevant State. Thus, in Ventimiglia, it is still better to fill up in Italy, reversing the trend of going to France. It is the French who come to Italy. This was confirmed by Roberto Parodi, secretary of the Intemeli Autonomous Frontiersmen of Ventimiglia: «From September to November 2022, when the Macron government’s discount of 30 cents per liter on fuel was in force, petrol was still convenient in France. Now the difference is not much ». And the lines of Italian cars at petrol stations on the Côte d’Azur have disappeared. Furthermore, in France a refinery strike has left many service stations without petrol and the race has begun in Italy.
Low prices in San Marino
The Italians are instead attracted by San Marino where, waiting for the government to harmonize fuel prices, from Rimini and Pesaro Urbino they go to the more convenient Republic of Titan where the average price per liter is between 1.45 and 1.50 euro with gold business for those gas stations.
Italians no longer go to Switzerland
In Northern Italy, the rise in the price of fuel discourages Swiss motorists from crossing the border: it is less convenient to fill up in the Como area. In Chiasso, for example, petrol costs 1.75 euros per litre: the difference with prices is within 10 cents. Swiss diesel, on the other hand, is over 1.90 euros: it’s not worth it. Italians no longer go to Switzerland, as has happened for decades, and Ticino residents no longer refuel in Italy, as was the case during the excise abatement period.
From the Trieste and Gorizia area en route to Slovenia
In Friuli Venezia Giulia the Region’s discounts are no longer enough to equip the cost at the pump in Italy and Slovenia. Many from the Trieste and Gorizia area go to Slovenia to fill up but without forming the queues seen in the past. Today, for example, in Basovizza, on the Trieste Karst, the cost at the first vending machine in Slovenia is 1.485 euros, around 40 cents less than at discounted vending machines in the city: on 40 litres, the saving is 20 euros. An evaluation that is not valid for Austria with which Friuli borders to the north, where the price is higher.