New app shows which filling stations in South Africa have the cheapest fuel

A new online app in South Africa allows motorists to check which petrol stations have the cheapest fuel.

It also details which stations have the best cash-back and fuel-reward programmes, such as those offered by banking services, reported MyBroadband.

The free service, called MyTank, is available on internet browsers at mytank.co.za or as an app on the Google Play Store for Android phones.

Developed by Cape Town resident Rob Gardner, MyTank is his first app and was initially envisioned as a way to check on the price of diesel, which can vary significantly from station to station even within a small area, Gardner told MyBroadband.

The inclusion of the fuel rewards section also means that the app has value to petrol users, whose fuel is more consistently priced between stations, as different cash-back services can have wildly-varying payouts depending on the station used.

“Some of the rewards programmes are notoriously hard to decode, so I wanted to provide a simple ‘apples-for-apples’ comparison and keep it super easy and intuitive with just enough info to allow users to make informed decisions,” said Gardner.

“I worked out I was sometimes getting less back in rewards than what it cost in fuel driving to a specific fuel station,” he explained.

“The app does all the sums for you and just tells you where to go and what rewards programme to use if you have several.”

Gardner also believes that the app will have increased value if the price of petrol 93 is deregulated, which could lead to vastly-different prices between stations.

How it works

Upon opening either the web tool or app for the first time, a brief tutorial and explanation will pop up before you are able to search for different petrol stations.

To search for a station, you can either manually enter the name of a location in a search bar or allow for the service to access your location, whereupon it will provide the details for nearby pumps.

The service provides users with what it would cost to fill a 55-litre tank at any given location, and registering an account will also allow you to adjust this calculation for your specific tank size.

Furthermore, by making an account, users will be able to add their fuel reward programmes with their associated tier level for more personalized results.

The calculations even factor in the cost of fuel that would be used to drive to a selected station based on the user’s current location.

There are also filters allowing users to search based on criteria such as distance, the brand of petrol station such as Engen or Caltex, and reward programmes like Discovery or Pick n Pay Smart Shopper.

A small red symbol will warn users when a station’s information may be incorrect and will say when a station’s pricing information was last updated.

Gardner is currently negotiating with oil companies for more stations to be listed, he said, and existing fuel stops can provide additional information such as loadshedding status, current specials, and the amenities which are located there, such as ATMs and restaurants.

To register an account, users simply need to provide a name, surname, and email address, and this can be done using the app or online.