The Gas Panic Continues
Decatur Metro | September 22, 2008In case you thought you’d go out and grab some gas at lunch today, about a trillion other people had the exact same idea.
The AJC is reporting no gas and/or long lines this morning just north of Decatur (not to mention everywhere else)…
Overnight deliveries replenished supplies, at least partially, at some stations that were closed Sunday. But others remained dry. And some that did have fuel, like the Shell station at Clairmont and North Decatur roads near Decatur, were running out as cars lined up during the morning rush hour.
“I should be out, maybe before noon,” said manager Andy Jiw, shortly after putting a bag over another nozzle. By 7:30 a.m., cars were lined up five and six deep behind the only two pumps with gas.
Maureen McCarthy, who lives near Emory University, waited in line as the needle on her fuel gauge hovered at empty. She was late for work.
“It’s a nightmare,” she said. “I’ve gone to four different stations. When I saw this one I was like ‘Hallellelujah.’”
So much for waiting for the panic to end before buying…I’m down to 1/4 of a tank. Luckily, I can take MARTA tomorrow.
Over at Peach Pundit, there’s an interesting discussion of whether Sonny’s price-gouging prohibition is contributing to the problem by interrupting the law of supply-and-demand.
Decatur’s rather fortuitous Car-Free day is this Wednesday.
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The Grant Park Chevron on Boulevard is nearly out. Further, I pumped for about 15 minutes and got about 3 gallons. This really doesn’t make sense.
there seems to be plenty of gas in the clarkston area, the tucker area and the QT in decatur just got a truckload today. i for one had no problem putting $20 in to get by the next couple days, but there were plenty of people there freaking out and filling up every jug they could get there hands on. is it just me or does anyone else think this is only contributing to the problem? the world is not going to shrivel up tomorrow and completely run out of fuel. yes, there was another tragic event here in the US that has led to some of the problem, but why do people feel the need to suck up every last drop they can get there hands on. the more you take that you don’t really need at this moment in time is one last gallon someone else cannot use that may really need it, never mind contributing to a shortage but it also contributing to the “price gouging”.
if you suck dry every station but one in a 5 mile radius, that gas station that is left with fuel is charging a heck of a lot more for it. i saw prices ranging anywhere from $3.98 a gallon to $4.49. in the short time i was home today (about 2 hours) the gas station down the street from my house jumped from $3.99 to $4.29.
this is ridiculous. please stop the panic. between the “we are running out of gas rumor” last friday that left many stations empty and what has happened today, we are only shooting ourselves in the foot.
Homeward bound has a great point. If people would just calm down, we’d all be better off. Bad news sells newspapers. It also sells gas at elevated prices. This experience also illustrates how married Atlantans are to their cars. And how we all need to change our perceptions of what that marriage means. Nearly everyone commutes. I commute daily to Dunwoody. Traveling alone in my car is by far the most convenient. Luckily for me Marta is an alternative for me. But if it wasn’t I could carpool with coworkers who also live nearby. Marta and public transportation in general needs a serious infusion of interest and creativity. Train frequency during rush hour is deplorable. Resistance to expansion is baseless.
I watched people filling up huge gas jugs last night at the QT on P’tree Industrial as I was on my way home. I work in Alpharetta, and don’t have any options for carpooling at this time. I would love to reduce my commute and dependence on my car for transportation, so if anyone would like to hire me in the Decatur area, let me know!
I just returned from a trip to South Carolina, where gas is plentiful and 40 cents less per gallon. What’s with that?
Gas is also cheaper at the gas stations near LAX – never thought gas in California would be cheaper than Atlanta.
i believe gas is cheaper in south carolina due to gas tax
Sorry, homeward bound, but for a long time, Sonny and Georgia have touted that we have the lowest gas tax in the nation, which is true, and have said they wouldn’t consider raising it so we could keep gas prices low. So much for that logic !