Press kit
For journalists and creators covering fuel prices, driving costs, tax and self-employment. Everything on this page may be reproduced. Contact: dbyast@gmail.com.
Fast facts
- What
- PetrolWise — a UK iPhone app that tells drivers what any journey costs in petrol or diesel, from their reg plate and live pump prices, and keeps an HMRC-ready mileage log.
- Who
- Built solo by Daniel Byast, a UK independent developer.
- Status
- v1.0 submitted to the App Store (July 2026), launching imminently.
- Price
- Free core app. Premium (full history, HMRC PDF/CSV exports, spending dashboard, fill-timing insights): £3.49/month or £24.99/year — under half the price of the big mileage-tracking apps.
- Data sources
- DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service (vehicle facts), the UK government Fuel Finder scheme (station prices, refreshed every 30 minutes), Apple Maps (routing).
- Privacy stance
- Journeys stay on the user's iPhone; no trip log is uploaded to PetrolWise servers. No ads, no data resale.
The story hooks
- 55p a mile: HMRC's first mileage-rate rise in 15 years (45p→55p, backdated to 6 April 2026) makes every logged business mile worth 22% more — yet most sole traders still log miles in notebooks, if at all.
- Making Tax Digital: from April 2026, ~780,000 self-employed people must keep digital records. April 2027 adds the £30k+ cohort.
- Regional price data: PetrolWise aggregates 30 days of area-level pump-price history across the UK and can support data-driven pieces (cheapest/priciest areas, supermarket vs oil-brand spreads).
- Solo developer: one person, no funding, taking on MileIQ and the fuel-finder incumbents by joining the two categories they keep separate.
Boilerplate (100 words)
PetrolWise is a UK iPhone app that tells drivers what a journey will really cost in petrol or diesel before they set off. Enter a number plate and PetrolWise pulls DVLA-verified vehicle details, checks live pump prices at nearby stations, and prices the route — one way or return. Every business trip builds an HMRC-ready mileage log that exports to PDF or spreadsheet in seconds, just as the new 55p-per-mile rate and Making Tax Digital make good records worth more than ever. PetrolWise is built in the UK by independent developer Daniel Byast. Core features are free; Premium is £3.49/month or £24.99/year.
One-liner
PetrolWise: enter your reg, see what any journey costs at today's pump prices — and let the HMRC mileage log write itself.
Screenshots
App Store-resolution images available on request. Web previews:
Usage notes
- The name is PetrolWise — one word, capital P and W.
- PetrolWise offers record-keeping tools, not tax advice, and is not affiliated with HMRC, DVLA, or the Fuel Finder scheme.
- Please link to
https://petrolwise.app.