Is anyone having to change travel arrangements this week due to the petrol situation?

[Thorilicious]

I normally drive to work, but am dusting off the bike for this week!

For a start, the government need to make it illegal with huge fines for anyone selling petrol/diesel on the side. Petrol stations near us were already putting prices up on Friday.

I was planning to drive to cornwall to see friends but I'm going to take the train instead.

So @Scoobygang7 the orders will come? It’s not like there won’t be petrol is it?

I didn’t bother to fill up. I have a quarter of a tank in one car, maybe a bit less, and 3/4 of a tank in another car. We are WFH at the moment and school is a short walk. So no desperate need for fuel.

I just assumed it was a panic over nothing and would settle down.

Roads definitely seem quieter in last 36 hours.

ps: Sainsbury last night & swim pool today also seemed quieter than usual. Doubt is coincidence.

Surely if there is enough fuel and sufficient tankers and drivers to deliver more fuel it is only a matter of time when petrol stations will be back to normal operations.
The greedy idiots who have filled their little used cars to capacity and stashed extra in cans will have no need to form more queues so will stay away and the rest of us will get back to normal.
Well , thats what should happen anyway.

DH filled his car up yesterday ready to take DS to uni in the week. Quite worrying that lots of parents in the uni group have said they've enough to get their child to uni but not get back home again if local petrol stations are out.

Why does anyone feel they have more of a right to a full tank than anyone else? Nobody else knows what the next persons justification is for why they need fuel. Bit stupid to start assigning a hierarchy of need to this. Who wins the top trumps between an office worker and a shelf stacker? A nurse or a doctor?

I put twenty quid in the day before the story broke. I've got about 30 miles left so I'm being careful. I don't begrudge the people queueing at petrol stations. I assume they need it, and when i go queue at a petrol station it'll be because i need it. The media are to blame for causing this frenzy. The last 18 months have taught people that they can't trust the government or the media so it's no surprise that people will go and buy fuel if they need it.

I will be able to get to school and home Monday and Tuesday, but I don't think I have enough for Wednesday onwards without filling up.

We pulled DSS out of a football tournament yesterday and a swimming lesson today to save fuel for work.

A colleague who lives another junction down the motorway than me is driving to me in the morning, but doesn't think she has enough to do that Tuesday.

I'll be leaving earlier to get to work as I use public transport and I'm assuming it will be much much busier than normal. I really need to get in to teach as we have several staff off with covid and our reception kids are very unsettled.

I am however feeling awful fo the little boy who lives 5 doors down from me as he won't be going to school tomorrow. He uses a minibus to get to his special school and it's not running. I'm sure all those filling up unnecessarily wont even give a second thought to kids like him.

@maddiemookins16mum

Three of my team (of 12) have contacted me today to say they can’t come in on Monday as have no petrol. They live 6-8 miles away, we have excellent buses. I said I’m happy to be flexible with start/finish times but need them in the office (they cannot WFH).

I bet there will be loads of chancers trying this

We didn’t panic buy. We didn’t want to be part of the problem but today our nearest city ran totally out.
DH had 1/4 tank and needs to get to work all week. We started to get a bit spooked. Rang the local (rural) petrol station and they said they were almost out, wouldn’t make it through the night.

We gave in and DH took both cars tonight and filled up.

Luckily we are car-free and when we hire often get electric vehicles.

It's going to be a stressful time for some, good luck for the week ahead

Are there parts of the country with absolutely no fuel?? The petrol stations around me have been busy (queued for 30 mins to get fuel yesterday) but nowhere has ran out and lots of petrol stations are quiet.

I manage a big team and it hadn't occurred to me that staff might have to work from home. I don't think I'd believe them if they told me they couldn't get petrol and I had no idea it was this bad elsewhere.

@Feelslikealot

Why does anyone feel they have more of a right to a full tank than anyone else? Nobody else knows what the next persons justification is for why they need fuel. Bit stupid to start assigning a hierarchy of need to this. Who wins the top trumps between an office worker and a shelf stacker? A nurse or a doctor?

I put twenty quid in the day before the story broke. I've got about 30 miles left so I'm being careful. I don't begrudge the people queueing at petrol stations. I assume they need it, and when i go queue at a petrol station it'll be because i need it. The media are to blame for causing this frenzy. The last 18 months have taught people that they can't trust the government or the media so it's no surprise that people will go and buy fuel if they need it.

We wouldn’t have seen the queues that we saw if it was people who needed the fuel and were buying as normal.

People were panicking and buying fuel “just in case”

Just watching the news now. Assumed it was all over as a guy was sitting with his engine idling for 10 minutes outside my house earlier .

Are there parts of the country with absolutely no fuel?? The petrol stations around me have been busy (queued for 30 mins to get fuel yesterday) but nowhere has ran out and lots of petrol stations are quiet.

I'm just outside a big city, all the petrol stations in my area are empty. The local police put a note on social media asking people to stop going out looking as all the pumps are empty.

Week 2 of being back in the office a few days - and I'll be asking to work from home! Fortunate to have this as am option, but it's still a PITA. Hopefully things settle down in next few days or I won't be able to get the kids to school (neighboring town, no public transport).

@TinselTitsAndGlitteryBits

My poor dad is a Hackney driver in London. No fuel = no work = no money. He's in absolute shreds about it.

Especially because he's currently in the NW with me (I've just got out of hospital..), he has enough to get back to London; but won't be able to work.

Then you've got people like one of my neighbours who only drives of a weekend, once in a blue moon, who has filled up both his and his wife's car - plus 2 Jerry cans each. He's openly admitted that it'll last them months. I said to him 'That's fantastic, wonder what my dad will do when he's got no fuel to work though?' neighbour replied 'Ach that's a shame'
He's lucky I'm so sore from surgery, I was a hair away from damaging neighbourly relations.

I would enthusiastically ask him if your Dad can buy the jerry cans (if same fuel type)

"I thought I'd ask you as I know you won't mind - you said it would last you months..."

Are electric vehicles going to be indirectly affected by the natural gas shortage? Seems inevitable.

We use our cars very little but argh, bad timing, 2 long trips planned -to meet other people's needs -- one yesterday & one tomorrow. Luckily just enough fuel for those both. Relieved that we are used to cycling instead so can ride the ruckus out.

ps: and yes, quite astonished by the large number of idling engines still around!!

I've got enough to get me to the nearest town and that's it. I love rurally so if there is no file left in town tomorrow I'm very screwed. I just optimistically figured it would have calmed down by now so didn't join the lines and add to the problem, but I fear I was wrong.

@maddiemookins16mum I'm glad I don't work for you

Let's hope your employees don't need to also get any kids they may have to childcare too... I'm sure you'll be fully expecting them to to strap them to a skateboard

No as I have an electric car.
However expect we won’t get a weekly visit from my parents who live 60 miles away

@FreeBritnee

There’s no way they’ll allow that refinery to go bust in this climate. It’s to do with a huge VAT bill so the government will be coming to some agreement I’m sure.

DP managed to get diesel today with no queue so both of us have got enough to be normal for a week/2 weeks. Then we’ll just limp along with everyone else I guess while this shit show rumbles o.

They should have accounted for the VAT bill because that's on sales they've already taken, surely?