Entries with tag "gasoline"

Ever since the trucker strike a few months ago, and then the hurricane soon after, the price of gasoline has been fluctuating madly. I saw it reach as high as 93¢/litre ($3.52/gal) at one point. For a while profits were fixed by DACO (which is basically the local equivalent of the Department of Consumer Affairs), but recently the head of DACO deregulated the prices but released a statement saying that there was no reason prices should go above 70¢, and consumers should not let gas stations try to gouge them by charging more than that.

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Heh, there is panic in PR right now because the truckers are on strike, demanding higher rates and refusing to deliver things, including gasoline to the gas stations and food to the grocers. There are a bunch of containers sitting on the docks with food that is going bad. But foremost in everybody's mind is the fuel thing. Yesterday as word spread about this strike, everyone rushed to the gas stations to fill up their tanks before the gas ran out, like it was a hurricane or something. Lines grew miles long, with hour-long waits, and within a few hours most gas stations were out of gas and closed. Today in the paper I saw that the governor has cut off negotiations with the truckers' union and has called out the National Guard.

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Hmm, that was weird. I stopped at the gas station on my way back from getting food around midnight, and as I went in to the store to leave my card, this dark-skinned sketchy guy in a wife-beater crouching by the door tried to ask me for something. He said, "Hey man," and then seeing my apprehension, said, "It's not money that I want. My truck is out of gas." This sounded like he was going to ask for a ride somewhere, which, needless to say, coming from someone on the street at midnight in PR when you drive a sought-after car, is not a request with much hope of being granted. Besides that, I was only out on my "lunch break" and was on my way back to work, and told him so. He pointed to the parking lot and said "I just need some gas, that's all," which normally I'd be happy to help him with, even if it WAS just a dumb cover story. But money is somewhat tight right now, so I apologized and declined and headed inside. I noticed he was gone when I came out.

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