by Maximiliano Crocamo and Nina Vaclavikova
At gas stations across Trieste, the numbers on the pumps have become hard to ignore: €2.18, €2.19, even €2.24 per liter. For many drivers, filling the tank has become an exercise in restraint rather than routine.
Gasoline has now climbed well above the €2 threshold, while diesel averages around €2.14 per liter. A temporary government extension of reduced fuel excise taxes, in effect through Aug. 26, has kept diesel prices from rising even higher; without the measure, motorists say it could approach €2.30.
Still, the steady flow of cars into service stations has not slowed.
According to fuel station attendants, customers are arriving more frequently but buying less. Rather than filling their tanks, many are purchasing only the amount they need to get through the week.
“They’re trying to save wherever they can,” one attendant said.
Drivers meet the rising costs with a mix of humor and resignation. Some point to regional fuel discount cards that soften the blow, while others say they have begun leaving the car at home more often, choosing scooters or public transportation for shorter trips.
The queues remain, but the era of the full tank is increasingly becoming a luxury.
