A new app is making the rounds online, and it is used to keep track of diesel. In South Africa, retail prices of diesel is unregulated, which is why most of the motorists find themselves most of the times at the mercy of fuel station owners. The price of diesel can vary for small cars and big cars, like SUVs that have an 80-litre tank, meaning a consumer could pay about R75 to R80 ZAR every time they fill their tanks.

In light of this, an Android app was recently launched, and it is called Pitstops. This android app was developed by Diederik van't Hof and is said to help consumers save money by helping them locate which stations offer the cheapest rate for filing up their tanks within a predefined radius they set up.

Pitstops app uses GPS to coordinate the user's location and specified diesel grade and tank capacity. This information is used to identify the closest gas filing station while providing additional details like price per litre of diesel, as well as how much savings consumers can get by choosing to get their tanks filled up with the recommended garages.

According to a statement posted by Pitstops on its website, for people who are always on the road, this means four or five top-ups per month, plus saving money of up to R400 ZAR just by making a planned and careful fuel stops at the right garages for the right price.

Van't Hof further adds during an interview that they did a test of Pitstops in Beaufort West, which has listed 11 petrol stations and truck stops. The saving they managed to calculate was R108 ZAR, which if totalled and calculated will end up with R5,600 ZAR saving for an entire year. The amount saved is equivalent already to one monthly vehicle finance payment, so that is saying a lot.

The Pitstops can also alert consumers when there is a nearby gas station that offers cheaper diesel to their location. For now, the diesel saving app is available only for Android phones and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Van't Hof said, though, that a version for iPhone users will soon be available as it is now currently being developed.