that is insane that there's such a shortage even now at gas stations. i know that in Florida we would have shortages right after the storms since trucks and tankers couldn't get in, but this is a bit afterwards and it's insane. i hope that the government is able to get some relief to those areas since it's a shame for activities to be cancelled this early in the school year and for things to be so regulated.

the upside is that maybe people will discover alternative methods of getting from point A to point B and we can see a positive impact on the environment.

I take the bus, which here uses natural gas, but most of my life is set up so that I can walk to most important places if I have to.

Wow. That's crazy.

Honestly, if my city ran out of gas, I'd just call my boss, get him to let me work from home until the crisis was over, and have some fun walking around my very walkable neighborhood.

On a side note, I was pretty pleasantly surprised that the hurricane didn't affect prices much in San Diego. We're still under $4, which, after the nightmare of $5+ a gallon earlier this year, seems great.

i wish that more people would talk about this. the artificial gas price increase because of the hurricane is ridiculous. the pipeline never closed and the oil price per barrel has been at its lowest in 6 months yet gas went up 2$/gallon over night and has maintained/increased since the hurricane. it is absolutely absurd. i do not believe for a minute that any of NC's gas supply/price problems are related to an inability to get the gas to the station, as we were not hit by the hurricane and i saw tanker trucks making multiple deliveries to gas stations every day. it all reeks of BS to me.

i thought (hoped!) that the price gouging was just fear mongering/gas stations taking advantage of the hurricane concerns. however, having established that people are willing to pay so much for gas, it appears that the gas prices are permanently up. yes, we need to change and be more innovative, but this level of change takes time and it is unacceptable for our government to sit back and allow for oil companies to completely take advantage of a bad situation.

and as a long-time resident of the south, i feel i must point out that it is impossible to expect southerners to turn to public transportation. most areas do not even have programs in place and, with the exception of charlotte's new light rail (which services a very small area), the programs that are in place do not work. there's a reason that the south has a reputation for being country... because people really do live in the country. it is not unusual at all where i live (western nc) for people to commute 30 minutes to an hour to where they work. yes, in today's society it's easy to say that they should move in to town and walk or take a bus to work, but even if people could sell their current house and move, that is not the kind of change that happens quickly.

wow that's crazy and scary at the same time.

The public transportation and we live in the country things are still frustrating KEG, since we've known we're susceptible to gas shortages for all kinds of valid and invalid reasons since at least the 70s.

jobs/housing balance, folks - it's no joke!

i'm not saying that living so far away from where you work is a good idea at all but, in my area, these people are just happy to have a job (or a house). i guess the mortgage problems and unemployment are really helping out with this problem... i have noticed a lot of families moving in to my apartment complex from houses (and presumably my apt complex right in the middle of town is closer to things than their house was).

I can live in Atlanta and can attest to the fact that this is widespread throughout the entire metro area. Every gas station I have passed since yesterday has been out of gas.

I live in Nashville, and the local gas station gets the gas in at 3:00 am and is sold out by 5:00 pm the same day. It is insane here. There are very very few stations with gas right now. It was suppose to be better this week, but there have been no changes as of yet. I guess only time will tell.

OH -- my -- that's insane. What do you do for gas - JennaV?

Cine! It's been a while...hope you're doing better!

It would take me about 5 hours to get to work on the bus if we ran out of gas...and it would be just about impossible for me to work from home. So, I guess I'd have find a bike route and get a LOT of exercise if that happened here!

Here in Gainesville Florida Gas is 3.79 and i didnt have to wait thank goodness.

Tee hee. Serious Gas Relief.

I remember the shortages of the 70's. Sitting in long gas lines, not being able to attend activities for scouts and such. It sucked, and my prayers are with those suffering through this crisis. It's amazing how much we take our transportation for granted until it's gone. I love my car, I don't know what I'd do if I had to depend on public transportation.

Hi 2M!

At some point, people might want to get serious and learn about public transportation - all signs point to things get more difficult before they work themselves out.

I'm in one of those 'running out of gas' towns...so I'll tell you what we do. Combine trips, carpool, NO lawn mowing and stay home! A LOT!
Stuff we should be doing anyway really. But yeah, it's really scary when you rely on gas to get to work. Most people in my town drive 50 miles away to their jobs. And motocycles and scooters are out of the question because almost everyone has children. Thanks 'W'!

KEG...your right. There aren't any buses in southern suburbia.
Oh yeah, even the public schools are making us pay for the gas for field trips!!

Not to be the bringer of bummer economics, but most of the time, shortages are caused by the public and not the actual supply chain. It's a self-fulfilling prophesy: there is a hurricane/storm/whatever coming and people are afraid there will be a shortage. Everyone (not literally but as a generalization) runs out and stocks up on whatever it was, gas or any other item, whether they need it right then or not. The result is an actual shortage when there would not have been one before. In a free market, there is no such thing as "price-gouging," by the way.

I'm not saying the situation doesn't stink and we shouldn't find alternatives, but it is something to think about.

Dream, I will be catching a ride with my mom and taking Marta down to the airport tomorrow to go to work.

Wow. This practically unbelievable!

Gas here is $3.59. And isn't it amazing that this is "cheap"?!

I'm in central OK (Norman). There isn't much by way of gas shortages here... but we did get prices raised for a few days.
It was 3.19 and then in two-four days it jumped to 3.69 ... a few days later it dropped and it is back at 3.19 here. As it was falling the first time I kept waiting to get gas and then it jumped back up and I was really bummed ... so I just decided to wait some more and luckily I did b/c it fell again and I was able to get it "cheap".

"In a free market, there is no such thing as "price-gouging," by the way."
I wish that were true but in SC Attorney General Henry McMasters is prosecuting gas gougers from a couple weeks ago.

wow that is so weird how this works, i live in san antonio, texas and the gas here is at 3.39 the cheapest in a year, there are always people at the gas stations we are not used to it that low

Mesayme - what I mean by there is no such thing as price gouging in a free market is that it's a bogus term. It's a political phrase. Businesses are prosecuted for price gouging, but in my view, that's an example of the government stepping in when it shouldn't. The market will regulate itself if left unattended. It really does boil down to supply and demand. (I'm a Libertarian if you couldn't tell.) 'Just wanted to clarify my earlier statement. Thanks...

Jules, I think you hit the nail on the head with this "price gouging" thing. Always glad to see another Libertarian.

I understand what you mean, but he's going after stations that where charging more than $1 more per gallon than the average rate. Some were charging around $5.79/gal. on stretches of roads where there are few stations, when the average was $4.29/gal.

That's just outrageous! People shouldn't be allowed to charge what they want for the property that they own. It just makes me sick.

I feel sorry for people having to deal with this, especially when they have no choice in the type of transportation they have.

I lived 33 years in Texas as utterly dependent on my car. Now, understand, I LOVE driving. Austin never really had good buses or any alternatives.

As such, I had never been in a train, a bus, a tram or a subway until the UK, where I rode them all at some point or another. In Edinburgh the buses are particularly awesome, safe, dependable, and not expensive.

Let me tell you - I can only WISH people had those options when I was in the states. That so many cities do NOT have them will start to bite people now, unfortunately. It could have been avoided.

The buses here in Finland are very pleasant, a bit pricier but when I compare it to cars and gas there is NO comparison, especially when the long winters hit and the last thing you feel like dealing with is a car.

Private companies run them, so its no impact on our taxes either.

I wish my friends back in the states had these same options.

I live in Florida.
When a storm comes, you fill up your gas tank.
Because I remember in 2004 when all those Hurricanes hit my area we had no gas for what seemed like forever!
But, then you only drive if you have to, and that is it.

I wish we had public transportation here. It is seriously almost non existent. I think it really only goes to the airport from a couple of different pick up places around town. Which, doesn't help anyone, since there really isn't much by the airport!

Luckily my fiance and I are moving to Portland, OR soon, and their public transportation seems much, much better. I can't wait to be able to walk to work, or walk to the bus stop, or whatever. I hate driving my car every where!