Blick has already tested the new TCS gas price radar

High fuel prices, exceeding 2.30 francs for the unleaded 95, came into play in the spring. Although the liter prices have decreased slightly, the price differences between the stations still remain significant. And hit the wallets of individual drivers hard. Unlike our neighboring countries, Switzerland previously did not have a price comparison tool for gasoline prices. That’s enough, says Touring Club Schweiz (TCS).

TCS Managing Director Jürg Wittwer, 52, announced in an interview with Blick on Sunday that a “gasoline price radar” has been launched so that he no longer has to sit back and watch the course of lubricant companies. “We address the problem of the lack of an overview of gasoline prices here and now,” Wittwer explains.

And this is how it works: Registered users in Switzerland regularly save up-to-date petrol prices. Via the new TCS price comparison platform or app, the differences in prices at Swiss gas stations for the six types of fossil fuels are displayed on a map as clearly and as up-to-date as possible. The aim, as Wittwer says, is to trigger a “price-cutting effect” on fuel prices through the new transparency.

Blick was able to privately test the beta version of the “oil price radar” ahead of launch. It stands out that the platform is still open to improvement.

Does it require registration?

No registration is required to access the information. However, if you want to actively participate in the platform and save or update prices, you must register. It’s also completely hassle-free: you just need to enter basic information like name, address, email and phone, then select an avatar and click on legal permissions and you’re set. Not everyone likes it, but it’s common and harmless on participating platforms. All recorded log files are deleted after one year.

Search and compare

Searching for gasoline prices is carried out using the geographical map of Switzerland, on which all gas stations are marked. At least the gas stations of the common brands are easy to find, they are also well signposted. However, small private gas stations have not yet been identified.

In the Blick test in the Illnau-Effretikon ZH region, the gas stations Socar, Migrol, Avia, Shell, Agrola and Tamoil are indicated on the map. Gas prices are only visible for Agrola in Illnau. On the other hand, Stadtgarage Rossi’s public gas stations or Häusermann, the car dealership in the industrial area, are not shown on the map.

How to capture

This begs the question: Can all gas stations be recorded in addition to prices? Blick visited all the mentioned gas stations. Prices can be easily entered through the app and updated in the case of Agrola as well. If a price has been updated, the next update can only be made after six hours.

Unfortunately, new gas stations cannot be added. Fuel prices at Häusermann are almost always 2 cents lower than branded petrol stations, which charge the same for all petrol categories, and about 1 cent lower at Stadtgarage Rossi. Of course, the latter offer gas station shops or additional services, which justifies the difference in price. Still: For pure petrol price comparison to be as effective as possible, TCS must make it possible to register private petrol stations.

Blick also tried a “Bschiss”: record the petrol price of a petrol station in neighboring Tagelswangen from Effretikon. This should not actually be possible due to the geographical location of the person capturing it. But in this case: According to Google Maps, the registered gas station is 900 meters from the entrance. Very close? New attempts to enter more remote petrol stations in Weisslingen or Illnau have failed. You will receive a message that you are too far from the gas station and cannot make any entrances. Anti-cheat via location works, but only from a radius of more than one kilometer.

Blick test result

At this early stage, oil price radar still has limited value, at least in more rural areas. In urban areas such as Zurich or Bern, the information density on fuel prices is significantly better, although there are still gaps. It will be crucial for TCS to convince the Swiss public to proactively and regularly supply the vehicle with up-to-date prices. Is the expectation of gas coupons sufficient as a practical price?

It is noteworthy that some of the updated prices have already changed significantly: they were consistently 5 centimeters cheaper in three days. But other prices have not been updated. This means that price comparison only works when prices are constantly updated practically every day.

Also again a little unsatisfactory: You can enter normal fuels. What about special fuels like Adblue or V-Power? Anyone who uses it will definitely want reliable information.

It is also not possible to determine the cheapest or most expensive gas station in Switzerland. Due to constantly changing prices, this is neither possible nor reasonable. The logic of the platform is already different: you get a quick overview of the gas stations in your area. However, if you wish, you can examine gas station prices throughout Switzerland. There is no filter for speed dial. Especially for frequent professional drivers, on longer routes it makes sense if you can quickly find the cheapest gas stations along the route. Maybe some kind of route planner can help? For clarity, if several gas stations are grouped in a cluster view, the lowest price can be seen in that.

TCS has already promised improvements and additional features. Gasoline price radar could one day be very useful. However, for this to happen, it needs to be spread and used from the very beginning. Otherwise it remains an empty promise.