Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association, which represents 1,500 stations, told us by phone that 75 percent of his members have shut down fueling.
"There's difficulty getting supply from the pipeline, to distribution centers, to the trucks, to the gas stations, and then the final hurdle, getting it into car. So there [are] difficulties along every point."
Many stations don't have power to pump gas. Those with power are pumping fuel until they run out.
Although some refineries remain shut down, they still have fuel in storage. But trucks are having trouble making it to the stations because roads remain blocked by trees and flooding.
Additionally, there are more cars on the road since many bus and train lines remain suspended.
Risalvato said none of his clients are gouging.
"There's nobody rationing. When a retailer has gas, he's pumping until he has no more."
Two separate people we talked to today, who otherwise have power, said that gasoline was their main concern, in part because it's fueling generators.
Facebook is filling up with questions about where gas can be found. On Twitter, resourceful NJ residents are using the #njgas tag to find out what gas stations are open and how long the lines are.
Gas lines over a mile long, with more than 150 cars, are now a common sight across the state. Waits are up to three hours.
Josh Brown at the Reformed Broker perfectly captures the mood:
And this morning at 6 am I got on one, sat for an hour and then saw all the cars ahead of me start to pull away. I thought I was in luck! Turns out the guy ran out of gas and was closing the station. Hilarious!
I'm not sure how much longer this can go on for...the novelty is wearing off.
No comments:
Post a Comment