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Elias Visontay

Elias Visontay

Elias Visontay is a National Consumer Affairs Reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Murrurundi Caravan Park operator Don Kemble said holidaymakers are cancelling amid fuel shortage fears.

Easter holidaymakers abandon road trips amid fuel shortage panic

Many caravan parks rely on Easter business to get through the quiet weeks, but this year some families are abandoning their road trips entirely.

  • Jessica McSweeney and Elias Visontay

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No diesel in this servo in Wantirna

Indie retailers pushed to back of queue in fuel supply squeeze

Independent fuel retailers are struggling to secure reliable supplies of petrol and diesel, causing more than 200 local outages at Victorian service stations.

  • Adam Carey and Elias Visontay
A video of Tesla FSD in action, uploaded by Victorian-based YouTuber Ryan Cowan.

Tesla sold ‘self-driving’ software for $10,000. Now it faces a legal fight

Tesla faces legal battles alleging it charged Australian customers for its self-driving software despite their cars being incapable of using the feature.

  • Elias Visontay
Uber has introduced a new pricing regime which will see rides that begin in affluent parts of Sydney and Melbourne charged disproportionately more than riders across other parts of the cities.

The Melbourne suburbs that will cop the biggest Uber price rises

In a break from its years-long pricing structure, the ride-share company will target passengers needing a lift in wealthier and inner-city suburbs with higher fares.

  • Elias Visontay
Uber has introduced a new pricing regime which will see rides that begin in affluent parts of Sydney and Melbourne charged disproportionately more than riders across other parts of the cities.

The Sydney suburbs that will cop the biggest Uber price rises

The company has issued a major overhaul of its pricing model, slugging different fares on different parts of the city, upping the rates for short trips and expanding peak times.

  • Elias Visontay
Uber drivers will be among those made to undergo training about inappropriate behaviour.

One in four women cop driver misbehaviour in rideshares and taxis

While a quarter of women experienced inappropriate behaviour when travelling alone in rideshares and taxis, only six in 10 reported the incidents, a survey found.

  • Elias Visontay
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A fire burns after a missile strike hits central Tel Aviv.

Australians use banned bookie as war wagers spark journalist death threats

Punters are circumventing the ban on Polymarket, where bets on the US-Israel-Iran war have triggered ethical concerns and fears of insider trading.

  • Elias Visontay
Uber driver Jacob Abboud says his fuel costs have gone up from $200 a week to more $300 a week.

Uber, taxi drivers push for fare increases amid fuel crisis

While motorists pay more at the bowser, fares on ride-share platforms and in taxis have remained stagnant, leaving professional drivers to foot the bill.

  • Elias Visontay
Sydneysider and FinTok influencer AJ Clores. “These are the moments you kind of wish for,” he says of this week’s market volatility.

‘Buy buy buy’: Market volatility sparks retail investor frenzy

Questions about the length of the war and severity of oil shortages have made for a volatile market, but a chunk of Australian investors are excited by the opportunity.

  • Elias Visontay
Long queues form at Mascot BP petrol station in Sydney on Monday.

Some regional servos run dry as petrol set for yet another price spike

The government has sought to reassure motorists of the nation’s fuel supplies amid reports of panic buying and some bush service stations running empty.

  • Elias Visontay and Caitlin Fitzsimmons