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Spiralling fuel costs hurt Sydney's Missionbeat vans |
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| Tuesday, 24 June 2008 14:50 | ||||
 Record petrol prices aren’t just hurting Sydneysiders with cars…they’re also making life difficult for some of the city’s most essential services – including Mission Australia’s famous Missionbeat vans which provide transport and care to homeless people.Filling the tank of one of Mission Australia’s four iconic Missionbeat vans has risen to around $100 – up from $70 just one year ago. With each van needing refuelling every second day, that makes a total weekly petrol bill of close to $1200. The Manager of Mission Australia’s Missionbeat, Daniel Petsalis, said rising petrol prices made life extremely difficult for a service that relied heavily on donations from individuals and business supporters. “Missionbeat’s vans patrol Sydney’s CBD and inner city 7 days a week, 365 days a year – between the four vans we do around 80,000 kilometres every 12 months,” said Mr Petsalis. “You can imagine what sort of impact rising petrol costs have on our ability to do our job – patrolling the streets of Sydney’s inner city giving support to people in need. “Missionbeat gets funding from both the State and Federal Governments but we also rely heavily on donations to make up the shortfall…and as petrol goes up that shortfall becomes even greater. “We’ve been scrambling over the past 12 months to cover our fuel costs with each rise at the bowser. “And if petrol reaches $2 a litre – or higher – as is predicted, we might be forced to reduce the number of vans we have on the street. “Of course, the only people who stand to lose if that happens are those who can least afford it – Sydney’s rough sleepers. “It’d be great to see one of the petrol companies come forward and help us out with a donation – or talk to us about discounting our fuel costs long-term – in recognition of the problem,” said Mr Petsalis. Media contact: Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495 
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