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!

clickbait21 I'm due to drive from London to Hull for a wedding next weekend and am worried. Can't afford to get the train.

That's me and you both, I have a wedding up in Sunderland and we're in London. Haven't got train fair for 5 of us we're so worried.

just checked my bus website and as of 22nd september there is a national shortage of bus drivers.

Our town is crazy at the minute, queues everywhere which are having to be managed by police and as soon as the pumps have been filled they are pounced upon and then empty again.

We will walk to school which is fine, I’ve got enough in my car to cover going to the kids clubs etc but we have a child going to a hospital for a procedure which is a few hours away so we will definitely need fuel for that. We could try on public transport but there’s lots of changes and we have to isolate before it which would then seem pointless if we were going to sit on trains all day.

Bogor That's my fear too. Even if we are lucky enough to get some petrol to get up there for the wedding what if we can't get any ti come back down. Im disabled and have 3 children and really don't want to get stranded with a car full and me being in pain.

My son has a long drive tomorrow for work, he is coming back on Friday. He managed to buy £30 worth of diesel yesterday evening but is definitely concerned about it. I told him to keep an eye out for open garages on the way up, and top up but - there may not be any. Train is not an option because he has to transport some essential equipment.

Gosh, this really is a worry for many people.

I looked at local facebook group earlier and an ambulance driver couldn't find a place to refuel. People like that should take priority but there are many who needs cars for work.

@Bogoroditse

Favourite cousin's wedding next weekend about 200 miles away. Don't have enough and not running out on the motorway with a car full of tired small people. Do we think it will have calmed down by Friday?

There's a good chance.

I reckon it'll take a few days to calm down, maybe a week.

Right now, there are loads of people who didnt panic buy and who know that they'll need to refuel in the next few days, and given the number of filling stations that are closed right now (estimates from 50 a 90%, BBC saying 2/3), that's something of a concern and they will probably brim their car when they find one that's open, even if they normally buy less but more frequently.

And of course the panic buyers will just keep on topping up.

So heavy demand may continue for several more days.

I can't remember how long it took to get back to normal when the 2000 strike ended. But that wasa full workforce returning to normal working. We don't appear to have a full workforce, so it might be slower

@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.

Hackney cab drivers should be given priority!

@TheHouseILiveIn one thing knowing you've got to pay it to HMRC, but when desperate to say pay wages and you can't get a loan, when the VAT money is there.... I'm not condoning the behaviour but this is the reality otherwise there wouldn't be people chasing VAT debts

I was able to put £15 in today using my Carer's ID badge. Good job cos I was literally running on fumes. Another garage refused to sell me any because apparently I'm 'only a Carer' so I don't matter. I practically begged and pleaded with them just to let me put £10 cos I was worried I'd break down but they wouldn't. Some guy broke down and he had to be pushed off the forecourt. If I can't fill up again this week I honestly don't know how I'll manage.

@TheHouseILiveIn

The government has said there's no need to panic because there's no fuel shortage. I'm guessing this is the consequence when you have a government that you know lies as easily as they breathe

There is no supply issue; it's a demand issue...

@Veryverycalmnow

I predict public transport will be busy and more cyclists on the roads!

Good!

130 miles in the tank... 60 mile round trip 5 days a week for school, nursery & work... Guess who'll be leaving the house at 6:30am with a 1 and 10 year old to get the train 🙄🙄🙄

We've got absolutely nothing here! Local garage opened at 3:30pm today and closed by 7pm with people still queuing 😔

I need approx £100 worth of fuel a week for work. I have 2 days worth.
Self employed so no fuel= no work= no pay

@VeryBerry22
The government lie all the time so I am not going to believe them when they say there is not a supply issue with fuel.

Both having to work from home. We only have one car - never needed a second, we work close enough to each other. On empty! 70 miles each way to the office so we’re at home for the foreseeable. Only just started going back to the office and convincing my team to come back - two steps backwards now!

The government lie all the time so I am not going to believe them when they say there is not a supply issue with fuel.

Same here. It's a bit like the emperor's new clothes, where the government are insisting that there isn't any problem and we mustn't worry, when the effects of the problem are patently evident to all of us. OK, then, if we pretend that you've reassured me that there's no problem with fuel supply, let's consider that one 'dealt with' and then fast forward straight to you just helping me with the little matter of why my car won't go (although it works just fine) and I currently can't do anything to make it go.

Same with the rocketing gas and electricity prices, where the government have been enthusiastically 'reassuring' us that there will not be a problem with supplies being available. Totally missing the point as always: if something is available to buy but only at a far higher price than you can possibly pay, then to you, it's effectively not available. You may as well deny there's any homeless problem by insisting that the Ritz, the Ivy etc. all have enough available suites to accommodate all the people in the shop doorways.

We've got a teeny bit left (way less then a quarter of a tank.) I work for nhs and can't work from home...there are no petrol stations local to me with petrol.

My partner is seriously ill and I don't particularly like leaving him alone at the moment and now I'm going to be away from home for an extra 2.5 hours a day as I've got to walk to and from work. I'm also worried that he'll need me in an emergency and I can't just drive home (although I'd obviously try to get a cab in that situation, although who knows if that'll even be possible?

I've a quarter of a tank left. Two essential trips next week taking my elderly mum to the hospital, so hoping things have improved by then. If not, not sure what I'll do.

I’ve got an electric car so I’ll be offering people lifts this week. All the local filling stations have run out.

The way I see it, the current panic buying is bound to slow back down once everyone's tank is full, because, well say there's 50 million vehicles in the country and the average fuel tank is half full at any time, and now suddenly everyone wants a full tank. Once that's done and assuming people are still driving the same amount of miles (probably a bit less as everyone will be conserving) then not much more can be bought, as there's nowhere else you can stockpile an extra 60 litres of fuel. (The effect of fuel cans is negligible). People will keep topping up, but if they're still only driving the same amount then that just equates to normal demand, once the initial fill-up has happened.

@TheHouseILiveIn it's very normal for companies to do this. If you've got £100 in your bank account and £50 of it is needed to pay VAT in 2 months time but you've got bank interest of £90 to pay tomorrow then you have to use the VAT money to pay the bank interest else the bank may demand loan repayment and then your whole business is in trouble. You then hope that in 2 months time when VAT is due that you'll have had some more income to cover that (normally you'll look forward to expected future sales and make sure everything is covered). Its kind of like living hand to mouth and any unexpected bill or unexpected fall in income could be catastrophic. Not an ideal way to operate but quite common.

@OnSecondThoughts

The way I see it, the current panic buying is bound to slow back down once everyone's tank is full, because, well say there's 50 million vehicles in the country and the average fuel tank is half full at any time, and now suddenly everyone wants a full tank. Once that's done and assuming people are still driving the same amount of miles (probably a bit less as everyone will be conserving) then not much more can be bought, as there's nowhere else you can stockpile an extra 60 litres of fuel. (The effect of fuel cans is negligible). People will keep topping up, but if they're still only driving the same amount then that just equates to normal demand, once the initial fill-up has happened.

That is assuming we do in fact have a normal supply - but we don't. We have patchy supply at best, and we have our second biggest oil refinery tottering on the brink of bankruptcy.

This was predicted before Brexit. I'm not sure why anyone is surprised

Just shifted the dates of our Cornwall caravan holiday on a few days as we were meant to be going on Friday, we have still got a few days play in the dates we are going so could be further shifted on a few more days, fortunately we only have to give 72hrs notice at sites and no deposit and of course its quieter now up until half term.

I don't know what I am going to do. I am on week 3 of radiotherapy, I go Monday to Friday and its a 44 mile round journey. I have just over the light coming on, and no fuel around here.
I am tired, sick to death of stupid fucking people and wondering what this all means for my treatment.

So pissed off.

Brilliant, OP. Yes, people do need their cars but loads of people could get on their bikes.