Drivers around Georgia dealing with gas shortages
ATLANTA - From no gas at local gas stations, to prices quickly rising, people across the metro area have called, e-mailed, Facebooked and tweeted out their fuel woes, due to the break in a major Southern pipeline.
"You don't know until you're there, there's no gas," said one driver, who complained about tryingto find gas in addition to a long work commute.
"Stockbridge gas is extremely high-- and it's out," said another driver, who has decided to ride his motorcycle to save fuel instead of driving.
Some drivers have complained of several stops at local gas stations, before finding one that offers unleaded fuel; other people have hopped from gas station to gas station, searching for unleaded, super unleaded or premium fuel.
"I went to four gas stations, so they do not have it so I just came up here to get it and they said they might not have it tomorrow," said Yohannes Araya.
"It concerns me a great deal because I have to have gas in order to work," said Lyft driver James Inman.
According to Gasbuddy.com, the average price of gas in Georgia on Tuesday, September 13 was $2.09, rising on the afternoon of Saturday, September 17 to an average of $2.26.
"Yesterday, I would have drove past that price and look for a less one. $2.15 had been my limit but now it gets to the point where I have to pay whatever it is," said Inman.
"It sucks when I saw the gas price," said Uber driver Kathy Stacher. "I was like what it is very expensive."
Metro Atlanta drivers have taken to social media to warn motorists of a shortage of gas at their local gas stations.
In the wake of a major gasoline pipeline break in Alabama, Governor Nathan Deal has signed an emergency order designed to prevent any shortages in Georgia. The order, which Deal issued earlier this week, temporarily allows truckers to stay on the road longer to bring more fuel into Georgia. It does stipulate that no fatigued driver should be required to work.
The leak began September 9 in Helena, Alabama, according to US News & World Report.
The break in Alabama has spilled hundreds gallons. The break is on one of two supply lines, one usually for gasoline, the other for diesel and jet fuel; with only one line operating for the Colonial Pipeline Company, only one line is being used for both resources.
“We have a contingency plan where we have moved gasoline over to the other line it normally carries diesel and fuel jet and we're moving gasoline to all points on our system,” said Steve Baker with Colonial Pipeline.
According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline as of Friday was $2.18.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Colonial Pipeline delivers about 40 percent of the gas consumed along the I-95 corridor from Maine to Florida.