Category: Wheels

Still having trouble buying gas around here. The Mapco and BP stores are having the most trouble getting gas tanker deliveries. Most of the Mapcos only have gas for about 3-4 hours every 2-3 days.

The Shell stations are getting gas sometimes twice a day now, so the really long lines are starting to disappear. The Thorntons are getting enough gas to stay open 24 hours now. Thankfully, there are two Thorntons near my house, so I can get gas when I need it, but there are areas that still have trouble getting gas on demand.

Some of the individual gas stations are adopting rationing plans. The most common policy is to limit the number of gallons of gas that you can buy at one time, the most common limit that I’ve heard is 10 gallons. The Thornton’s gas station near my house has a dollar limit of $75 per visit.

The most bizarre example was down in a little town that has only 2 gas stations in the area. The BP is out of gas except every 3rd day when they get a limited delivery. The BPs and independents are the hardest hit on the shortages. The Shell stations seem to be getting one delivery of a partial tanker truck every day, but they have no idea what time the truck will come and it is scattered throughout the 24 hour period with no regard to location or volume.

So this little town has a BP that is out of gas and Shell station that just got a delivery about 30 minutes before I arrived. The word got out fast and all the locals mobbed the station with entrance and exit chaos. So the local police were called to restore order and they came up with this plan:

All cars have to get in line from the one entrance behind the store adjacent to the shopping center parking lot. All cars must form a line that snakes through the shopping center parking lot around the entire perimeter and then down the side street. There were 72 cars in that line when I arrived, pilling over into the side street. Anyone accused of cutting in line was ejected by the police and denied gas.

The police parked their cruisers on one side of the pump island and only allowed 2 cars at a time to approach the open side of the island. Upon reaching the pump, the police inspected your fueld gauge. If you had half a tank of gas or more you were ejected and denied gas. To help speed up the line progress, a store clerk stood outside by the pumps and upon the OK by the police that the vehicle’s gas tank was less than half full, the clerk (with a pocket full of dimes to make change) would accept cash payments of $39.90 and you were allowed to pump 10 gallons of gas. No gas cans, boats or recreational vehicles were allowed gas. No one was allowed a second trip the same day.

I’m not sure what legal right these cops had to look at your fuel gauge and deny youthe right to purchase gas, but there were two of the Bubbas there in no mood to argue. So everyone did as they were told and spent 2 hours in line to get their 10 gallons of gas for the week.

Most people who normally just buy $10 or $20 worth of gas aren’t able to do that this week because of the gas shortage in this area. Finding a station that is open and actually has any gas to sell is becoming a sicko treasure hunt. When you finally find a station that is open you drive up behind the last car in a very very very long line and wait for up to 2 hours to get your turn at the pump. You aren’t going to go through all that for just $10 worth of gas – you are going to want to fill it up to postpone the pain as long as possible.

Most stations are out of everything – all grades and diesel. The station that are getting gas deliveries are not getting a full truck load and they are only getting that every 2 – 3 days. The typical truck brings 3,000 gallons of regular and then leaves. The average station pumps that out within 3-4 hours.

Tempers are starting to flare with line cutters and luxury items like fishing boats and recreational vehicles being harrassed for wasting gas. It’s getting ugly out there, folks.