Fuel Price App Sees Surge in Users as Petrol Costs Skyrocket

Thousands of New Zealanders are turning to a fuel price comparison app to find the best deals at the pump as petrol costs continue to rise, driven by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

The Gaspy app, which allows users to report and compare fuel prices across different petrol stations, has experienced an unprecedented increase in usage over recent weeks. Daily new user registrations have jumped from a baseline of about 700 to between 6,000 and 10,000, according to Gaspy director Mike Newton.

“In terms of active users on the app, we normally see between 50,000 and 100,000 a day,” Newton said. “For the last week and a half, we’ve had over 200,000 active users every day and a couple of days of over 300,000.”

The dramatic increase in usage comes as cost-of-living pressures intensify for many New Zealanders, with fuel prices becoming a particular pain point for household budgets. The app helps consumers find the cheapest fuel in their area, potentially saving them significant amounts on regular fill-ups.

However, the influx of new users has brought challenges. Some inexperienced users are struggling with the app’s interface, occasionally entering prices in incorrect categories. More concerning is the deliberate misinformation being posted by some users, including false reports of petrol costing $4 per litre.

Newton explained that some users were entering these inflated prices as a makeshift way to indicate fuel shortages at certain stations, as the app previously lacked a dedicated feature for reporting supply issues.

In response to these challenges, Gaspy implemented several changes on Sunday morning. The company introduced a temporary system allowing users to report shortages directly to Gaspy staff, who then verify the information. They’ve also restricted the ability to update prices remotely, requiring users to be physically present at a station to submit price information.

“We’ve actually clamped that right down so you have to be next to the station to update prices at the moment,” Newton said. “If there were some bad actors out there – and we don’t believe that there are a significant number – they would actually have to drive to a station to be a nuisance, and I just don’t see people going to that effort.”

The company is also developing more sophisticated solutions for the long term, including an artificial intelligence system to help identify suspicious price updates automatically.

“We’re looking at putting AI measures in place to make sure that our fuel updates are accurate,” Newton explained. “It could look at a station and go, ‘Well, somebody’s reporting the diesel price higher than the 91 price – maybe that doesn’t seem right, we should probably just reject that update.'”

Despite these challenges, Newton emphasized that false reporting isn’t a “massive problem” and that inaccurate information is typically corrected quickly due to the high number of active users verifying prices.

The current situation represents uncharted territory for the 11-year-old app, which has never before had to deal with widespread fuel shortages or such rapid user growth. The company appears to be adapting its systems in real-time to meet the changing needs of its user base during this period of economic stress.

Newton encouraged users to continue updating prices and reporting shortages, noting that the conflict in the Middle East and resulting fuel price volatility are unlikely to resolve soon. For many New Zealanders facing tight budgets, the crowdsourced information provided by Gaspy may remain an essential tool for managing household expenses in the months ahead.