You've probably noticed that petrol and diesel prices are skyrocketing all around the world at the moment, and, combined with other cost of living increases, this has left many looking for the best prices on fuel. Luckily, Waze has a feature that shows you the best prices at nearby petrol stations.
It goes without saying that this feature is extremely helpful and will save you from having to drive around to different forecourts to find the best prices. It'll help you plan your journey in advance and could save you a decent amount of money.
To find the best petrol prices tap the 'Where to?' box in the Waze app. The Google-owned application will display your location history, saved places, and points of interest such as parking spots, drive-thrus, restaurants, and, most importantly, gas stations.
If you select the petrol station icon then you'll be shown a list of the forecourts in your area, along with the price for the chosen fuel, the distance to each petrol station, and their addresses. The app will also show when the price information was last updated at each station.
The prices are colour coded, from green to red in order of least expensive to most.
Of course, there's also a map view that shows where each petrol station is located.
Once you've found the petrol station you'd like to visit, simply tap it and Waze will take you there on your phone, or Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, if you use them.
How Waze petrol prices work
Okay, so how does the Waze petrol price feature actually work? The app is powered by its users reporting speed cameras, accidents, and traffic, keeping everyone up-to-date in real-time. The same goes for petrol prices.
So, whenever someone stops for a refill or parks near a petrol station, Waze sends a popup requesting them to update the prices for each type of fuel.
Waze will do this for every user of the app, as long as they have the feature turned on and have driven over 100km, so given how large and community-spirited the userbase is, there's a good chance the fuel prices will be accurate.
I checked the petrol stations near Bicester and found that most had been updated either yesterday or today. Only two out of twenty had been updated over three days ago.
Of course, if you live in quieter, more rural locations, then the prices might not be updated as frequently.
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