Welcome to my blog, where I write about random topics. Use the "Posts by Tag" section on the left to view my posts sorted by the various interests.

Quote For The Day:

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Please, stop buying gas!



OMG! Gas has been out of control here in Alabama, due to panic over potential hurricane effects, since Friday.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1221293707189620.xml&coll=2
Gasoline prices in Birmingham and around the Gulf Coast skyrocketed Friday as panic-buying tied to Hurricane Ike caused lines at some service stations and voluntary rationing by one major retailer.
Prices jumped as much as 14 percent in hours, as many gas stations that were charging about $3.50 a gallon Thursday charged $3.99 a gallon by Friday afternoon. In some areas, prices jumped above $4.50 a gallon.


http://www.alabamagasprices.com/news/Stiff_penalties_for_gas_gouging_during_Hurricane_Ike/8664_325966/index.aspx "Fearing the worst, drivers flocked"

and "Gas Hoarding Drains Pumps" says it all.
http://www.wkrg.com/hurricane/article/hoarding_gas_in_south_alabama/17370/P10/

I was one of the unfortunates who actually NEEDED gas after work on Friday. I had to deal with the mad insane rush of frenzied people flocking to the pumps to fill up because their co-workers and family members and friends and they have all been in a state of panic because they think we're going to run out of gas because it can't be delivered due to it not being able to arrive because of the hurricane. (yikes, that was a long sentence.) If I hadn't have filled up, I would have run out of gas mid-day on Saturday, so I HAD to deal with it. I had to sit in a LINE to get gas. By 6:00 PM, the only gas available was the highest grade. I was actually pretty lucky because it was "only" $3.78 per gallon (their pre-frenzy price was $3.54 per gallon for the low grade, the cheapest in the general area I had seen). Many gas stations had already upped their prices by that time of the day to help offset the frenzy a bit.

I'm just mad that I had to be a part of it. A lot of people actually left work to fill up on Friday so they could avoid higher prices later. I just wanted to have a friggin' bit of gas so I could go places on the weekend.


Here's a neat little website to find the local gas prices.
http://gasnearu.com/zipcode_35244

-----------

Update: 09-19-08
Yep, Friday they were out of stuff STILL.

3 comments:

KF-in-Georgia says:
at: September 17, 2008 at 9:12 PM said...

I didn't need gas on Friday, so I didn't buy any. And I curtailed my driving. (Postponed a 40-mile roundtrip drive to yarn stores.)

But now I'm screwed... The feared gas shortages have occurred, and many stations here have no gas. I have a quarter of a tank and must buy gas in the next 48 hours. If I can find it. And no matter how much it costs. I should have been in line with the other folks last week.

Mermaiden says:
at: September 21, 2008 at 1:43 PM said...

Man, that stinks. That's what makes me so mad. People panicking and screwing it all up for the rest of the driving crowd. If people had not panic-purchased, it would be fine.

Mermaiden says:
at: October 13, 2008 at 8:43 PM said...

Wow, today I saw gas for $3.25. That's the cheapest I've seen it in a while.