Luckily, this hasn't been a problem for me... yet. And hopefully things will be cleaned up before it is...
But it IS a problem for a lot of other people here.
My friends in the western suburbs and downtown have been complaining about stations out of gas since Ike hit. Over here in the eastern burbs, the problems had been sporatic... Until the last couple of days.
A few days ago I had to get gas for my wife's minivan. At my usual haunt, the Kroger at Rockbridge and Five Forks, there hadn't been lines. But, on Tuesday, there were about 30 cars in line. Today, there were well over 100.
In both instances, the management were in the parking lot around the fueling center keeping the traffic moving and orderly. And the lines were moving quite quickly on Tuesday... which is part of the problem.
Despite the fact that there weren't limits on the purchases, the person in front of me got $10... They waited in line and got $10. At $4/gallon, that is only 2.5 gallons. The person in front of them got under $14... 3.5 gallons.
Why???
Obviously because they were just topping off... again. And that is one of the reasons for the shortage and the lines. People are panicking and getting gas every 8 minutes. That means lines... Of course it isn't the only problem, but the Governor has changed the rules to allow tankers to go to stations at all times of the day, and the EPA is allowing out of market gasoline to come into the market.
Hopefully this will clear up in a few days. The pieces seem to be in place. Now we just need the gas in place.
Feel free to check out my other blog about Atlanta Gas Shortages at LaneBailey.com.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow." K in Men in Black.
Haven't we seen many results of panic lately? One of my LO's said the night before WaMu crashed there was a line of cars 30 long pulling cash out of WaMu. What, $500 is going to last forever? If 10,000 people took out $500, as WaMu hinted happened, that was $5,000,000 drained from cash reserves. How stupid are people? Bank runs are what put the economy over the edge and into the Great Depression.
I have no gas - none in momma's hemi - none in my Banana - none in my truck. Good thing the office is walking distance. Funny, I always keep a full tank in all the cars - no joke. The one time I have 1/2 in each a gas crisis hits. Another funny is that two weeks ago I said, "It's still not as bad as the 70's ... at least we still have gas!" L.O.L. out loud I mean.
"The Barack Obama campaign is asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading TV ad during the presidential campaign." Scared much? Okay, let's start throwing that lie detector around ... get set .... GO!
I haven't added any gas to my tank this week as I believe things will ease up soon. Hope I'm right. Save your gas, ride a cowboy???
I heard about this yesterday watching GA vs Bama. Yikes, only happened to me once when I lived down South, in the Carter years. They were joking on sports center about them running out of gas before they got to the Atlanta Airport. I am keeping my car topped off at 1/2 tank but there is so far on shortage here. Our gas was 3.69 yesterday.
Lane - It's been going on here in Nashville for weeks. It's all because the EPA makes some of our cities us a different blend of gas in areas that may have smog problems. All of the gas come from one pipeline in Houston. Guess what, it was shut down for weeks because of two hurricanes and the the loss of powere
Lane, From the sounds of it the problem is getting worse and not better. I thought that gas was to be flowing again..
Ken - The diesel is 3/4 full... and that is what we have to take out today to get a fridge... no diesel shortage, either. The van is almost full... I hope we can outlast this thing.
Susie - I am NOT riding any cowboys. ;^ )
Missy - Don't go crazy with the topping off...
Larry - There are upwards of 40 different blends now. It has gotten crazy.
Don - It was supposed to have passed by now.
Lane,
Noticed on my recent trip to DD World Headquarters that gas in Georgia was about 40 cents more than in Florida. This is strange since Georgia usually has cheaper gas than Florida due to state taxes. Hopefully this will ease up soon.
Dave
Lane - I too hope that the shortage situation will get cleared up soon.
WOW, I think some of us take for granted that we have gas at our finger tips. Thank you for sharing!
Brooke
Dave - My mom is in VA and we are usually with a couple of cents... they are 50 cents under us.
Jennifer - I filled up with diesel today... no worries. But those that burn gas are not happy and secure right now.
Brooke - Until we don't have it...