Cars wait in line for fuel at a Gulf gas station on November 1, 2012 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. (Photo credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork/AP) –Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that officials expect the fuel shortage that has been causing long lines and short tempers at New York gas stations, to continue for several days.
Gov. Cuomo said that authorities are not sure when the shortage will end, but that it is expected to be a short-term problem.
Fuel delivery and distribution problems caused by Sandy have been easing and more gas is on its way into the area, according to the governor.
1010 WINS reporter Carol D’Auria spoke with customers on line at a Long Island gas station…
Some customers were waiting less than patiently for their gas.
“There should be gas here and we shouldn’t be waiting on lines at two in the morning,” Joe from Island Park told 1010 WINS reporter Carol D’Auria.
Others were a little bit more understanding.
“The trucks are going to get here, it’s just a matter of time,” said a patient customer named Ralph.
Long lines had also formed at Department of Defense mobile fuel stations set up in the city and on Long Island. The government was asking civilian customers to stay away from those locations until emergency responders had filled up on gas.
Over in New Jersey it was more of the same, where lines at gas stations wrapped around blocks and extended up and down highways.
Governor Chris Christie implemented a 1970′s style gas rationing system that appeared to shorten some lines, although it may have also resulted in confusion at some stations. Governor Christie insisted that the problem was not a shortage of gas , but rather an inability to get the necessary gas distributed on time.
The rule allows drivers with license plates ending in even numbers to fill up on even days and drivers with odd plates to fill up on odd days.
1010 WINS Reporter Steve Sandberg spoke with gas customers in New Jersey…
Some motorists and police officers did not understand how the system worked, and some gas stations were ignoring it entirely, according to some reports.
Some New Jersey gas customers were less than pleased with the system.
“Supposedly this happened previous to my birth, and [expletive] then and it stinks now,” a customer named Nicole told 1010 WINS reporter Steve Sandberg.
By Saturday afternoon thirty-percent of gas stations in Northern New Jersey were open compared to ninety-five-percent of stations that were open south of Trenton.
How bad was your gas wait? Let us know in our comments section below…
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
