OTR Unleaded Sits 16 Cents Higher in Launceston Than Burnie as Every Northern Tasmanian Servo Climbs

The official TAS FuelCheck figures pulled at 2:05pm AEDT on 10th Oct 2026 show northern Tasmania's unleaded prices have climbed for nine days without a break. One brand in the data deserves closer scrutiny. It moves its sites in the same second, by the same amount, yet keeps them 16 cents apart.

Every servo is up since 1 October

Petrolmate tracked 73 servos in three areas: greater Launceston, Devonport along the coast to Ulverstone, and Burnie. Every one of them has lifted unleaded petrol prices since 1 October, and not one held or eased. The smallest rise was 6 cents, the largest 17 cents and the median 10 cents.

The climb came in small steps rather than one jump, usually 1 to 6 cents at a time. On 4 October, 49 servos lodged a rise, followed by 56 on 6 October, 44 on 7 October and 42 on 9 October. The median price in each area moved like this:

In Burnie, Ampol Mood Food Burnie went from 239.9 to 256.9 and the unmanned TAS Petroleum site on River Road in Wivenhoe from 233.9 to 250.9. Both rose 17 cents, the biggest moves in the area.

One brand, one second, three prices

That brand is OTR, which runs three sites across the region:

The feed records all three lifting by 2 cents at 4:05am on 4 October, to the exact second. On the evening of 6 October each lifted another 2 cents within five minutes, and Cooee and Kings Meadows again shared the same second. When OTR changes its price, the whole network changes with it.

Yet the gap between Cooee and Kings Meadows has barely shifted. It was 18 cents on 19 September (228.9 against 246.9), 15 cents on 4 October and 16 cents today. On a 50 litre tank, that is $8 more at the same brand, roughly 150 kilometres down the road.

Rent, volume and freight do differ between towns, so some gap is reasonable. Launceston, though, is Tasmania's second largest city, with 38 servos selling unleaded within 25 kilometres. A fixed 16 cent tier, held in place while all three prices move in lockstep, suggests the gap comes from local pricing decisions rather than day to day costs.

Hobart undercuts Launceston too

Five servos in North Hobart and on the eastern shore sit at 246.7. Across 74 servos, Hobart's median is 251.9, two cents under Launceston and four under Devonport. Shell Reddy Express Hobart asks 246.9, while Shell Reddy Express Launceston on York Street and on Bathurst Street both ask 253.9. That is 7 cents more under the same sign.

Where the value is right now

Around Burnie, OTR Cooee leads at 239.9, followed by United Camdale at 243.9. Camdale held 231.9 from 29 September until early on 9 October, then lifted 12 cents in a single step.

In Devonport, five servos sit on 249.9: OTR Formby Road, Shell Reddy Express, United Devonport, Astron East Devonport and the unmanned TAS Petroleum site in East Devonport. Seven Ampol and BP sites around town sit on 255.9, a 6 cent split within one town. Shell Turners Beach, 10 kilometres west, is 245.9.

In Launceston, the best value is the unmanned TAS Petroleum site in Invermay at 249.9. Next comes a cluster on 251.9 that includes United York Park, United Paterson Street, BP Launceston and BP Newnham. Ampol sites at Glen Dhu, Exeter and Longford ask 257.9.

E10 prices are hard to find up north, with only six of these servos listing it. Where United Petroleum offers it, at York Park, Newnham and Burnie, E10 is 5 cents under the same site's unleaded. Diesel prices start at 281.9 at United Burnie, while most of Launceston sits between 284.9 and 291.9.

What this means at the bowser

In northern Tasmania, the town a servo stands in tells you more about its price than the brand on the sign. The same OTR network charges 239.9 on the Bass Highway at Cooee and 255.9 in Kings Meadows. Check the price trends and the latest Tasmania prices before you fill up.

I will be watching whether OTR narrows the 16 cent gap between Cooee and Kings Meadows. Armed with this information, Devonport motorists can avoid paying 6 cents a litre more for the same unleaded across town.