Lucknow: Reacting to the fuel price hike, citizens across income groups said it will make everything expensive by increasing transport costs.With petrol prices rising from Rs 94.73 to Rs 97.55 per litre and diesel from Rs 87.86 to Rs 90.82 per litre, residents fear the cost of vegetables, groceries, delivery services and other daily essentials will also increase in the coming days.As fuel expenses rise, students and daily commuters said they are planning to shift to cheaper modes of transport. “The rise will make my daily commute costlier, so I will shift to the Metro,” said college student Mohd Habib from Burlington. IT student Tamreen Fatima added that since she depends on pocket money, she will prefer autos over using her scooty daily.Apart from students, residents travelling long distances daily also fear the hike will strain monthly budgets further. “There is no Metro connectivity near my house and cab fares may also rise,” remarked Mohit Gupta from Aminabad. Himanshu Singh from Aashiana noted that the hike would affect everything from vegetables to school fees.The impact is expected to be sharper on transport workers, who cannot reduce fuel consumption despite rising prices. “People like us, who ferry children to school daily, cannot switch to other modes of transport,” explained school van driver Walliullah. Auto driver Usman Ali from Charbagh pointed out that rising fuel prices and unchanged fares were making household expenses difficult to manage.Low-income and middle-class families said the hike would further disturb already stretched household budgets. “This hike will make things even harder for me,” shared auto-rickshaw driver Usman from Burlington, while Ameesha Verma from Vrindavan Colony felt the fuel price rise would worsen monthly expenses.Some residents, however, said switching to electric vehicles has helped reduce the direct impact of the latest hike. “I now drive an electric auto, which helps save fuel costs,” said Ramesh, an auto driver from Raniganj.What experts say:Prof MK Agrawal of Lucknow University said the Rs 3 hike may only be the beginning due to rising crude oil prices, higher insurance costs amid Middle East tensions and the stronger dollar against the rupee. He said further hikes are possible in the coming months. “It is well known that when transport becomes expensive, the cost of goods and services also rises. The burden is passed on to consumers. Therefore, to delay or reduce impact, we need to reduce fuel consumption,” he emphasised.(with inputs from Mariyam Shakeel, Amritansh Singh, Love Agarwal, Ridhima Agarwal)
