Petrol panic buying

[reddragon]

'Panic buying' is a lie. People NEED fuel to: get to work, visit elderly parents, get to hospital, and for many, many other reasons. To call it 'panic buying' is to blame the victim.

The fuel retail association stated that sales were 5x normal levels. I guess that means many were panic buying!

That somewhat ignores the fact that with fuel, you don't have to leave the nozzle in for 40 minutes to get a tank to 80% full...

Well if only 5% of users fill up in public, that's less pumps needed then!

And before you say only 70% have drives, there is a hugely disproportionally higher car ownership in homes with parking versus high public transport use with homes without.

 

[Ediswan]

Fuel tankers. How do they discriminate between the different fuels they carry? Do they have different couplings? Or, simply rely on the driver knowing what's in which tank on his lorry - and which might be different on another lorry...

The impression I get is that all couplings are the same. Some online photos suggest the tanker outlets can be marked. But ultimately, it does seem to be down to documentation being correct and everybody in the chain doing their job properly. Very occasionally there is a report of mutiple drivers misfueling due to the wrong fuel having been delivered from a tanker.

 

[eMeS]

The impression I get is that all couplings are the same. Some online photos suggest the tanker outlets can be marked. But ultimately, it does seem to be down to documentation being correct and everybody in the chain doing their job properly. Very occasionally there is a report of multiple drivers misfueling due to the wrong fuel having been delivered from a tanker.

Thanks for the info - it's what I feared, and potentially worrying when tanker drivers are under pressure....

 

[Crossover]

And before you say only 70% have drives, there is a hugely disproportionally higher car ownership in homes with parking versus high public transport use with homes without.

Does that account for non-public parking where charging may not be an option?

Fuel tankers. How do they discriminate between the different fuels they carry? Do they have different couplings? Or, simply rely on the driver knowing what's in which tank on his lorry - and which might be different on another lorry...

I would presume documentation, labelling etc. I would guess it is the same for other loads (my workplace deals with various chemicals and gases and all the filling nozzles look to be the same, plus some of the tanks will get flushed and then filled with something "new" depending on business needs)

 

[reddragon]

Does that account for non-public parking where charging may not be an option?

Charging stations are always an option in car parks, non-public parking and on street.

Norway has done with much higher proportions living in flats so it cannot be that hard to do!

 

[Dai Corner]

Walked past an Asda petrol station in Newport, South Wales this afternoon. Two or three cars were there and I think the notices advising of the £30 max spend had gone

Didn't think to check prices but will update later if I remember.

 

[Mojo]

Fuel tankers. How do they discriminate between the different fuels they carry? Do they have different couplings? Or, simply rely on the driver knowing what's in which tank on his lorry - and which might be different on another lorry...

At work this morning had to get some petrol for the work vehicle. Went to our normal garage and a tanker was on the forecourt; asked the driver how long it would take and he advised it takes 40 Minutes to empty. Whilst working out where to go to next I watched the process; seemed to be 4 manhole covers [the garage sells premium and standard for both unleaded and diesel] on the forecourt and he just opened a control panel at the petrol station, lifted the cover and dropped the hose in.

Ended up going to a Shell around the corner which was quite a small site with only 4 pumps and we parked right next to the filling pipes, these were raised off the ground with a screw fitting, each pipe was labelled and coloured for the types of fuel that goes in them.

Does anyone know - are there multiple tanks at the bigger garages for the same fuel types? I'm guessing there is, as I've seen a lot of locations the past week where sections of the forecourt have been blocked off - unless it's just some way of reducing capacity so it doesn't run out too quickly. I wonder if there is a big empty < full gauge somewhere in the petrol station, or do the computers just calculate how much has been dispensed at the customer pumps and this is just taken away from what they know how much has been put in the tanks.

 

[brad465]

The boring answer is he was visiting a hospital in Leeds first that day, before then getting to Manchester.
But it’s more amusing to poke fun at the Tories and suggest they don’t know where trains go.

The party's Twitter account who posted that image should have clearly stated that he was going there first, rather than not include that and create all the hassle. Unless of course they did that deliberately to whip up hysteria, which in itself is immoral behaviour from a Government and they should be called out for it in the interests of a healthy society that is ultimately their responsibility to ensure we have.

 

[Crossover]

Does anyone know - are there multiple tanks at the bigger garages for the same fuel types? I'm guessing there is, as I've seen a lot of locations the past week where sections of the forecourt have been blocked off - unless it's just some way of reducing capacity so it doesn't run out too quickly. I wonder if there is a big empty < full gauge somewhere in the petrol station, or do the computers just calculate how much has been dispensed at the customer pumps and this is just taken away from what they know how much has been put in the tanks.

I believe there are multiple tanks, yes, and I would expect there to be a guage to show the level of fuel in the tanks, particularly in moderm stations. Taking a reading is referred to as a "tank dip" and would be important not just for knowing how much fuel is in, but also making sure the delivery amount was what was on the documentation (make sure there is no short changing!)

In a previous job, I did a little work with a small number of fuel stations on the motorway network, and they didn't tend to "brim" the tanks on delivery, as it is just "money sitting underground" but would be based from expected demand (at least, that's what the then forecourts manager told me!)

 

[Starmill]

The party's Twitter account who posted that image should have clearly stated that he was going there first, rather than not include that and create all the hassle. Unless of course they did that deliberately to whip up hysteria, which in itself is immoral behaviour from a Government and they should be called out for it in the interests of a healthy society that is ultimately their responsibility to ensure we have.

I'm pretty certain that they just did it because to them a train is simply a train, and that's as complicated as it gets.

 

[Bald Rick]

The party's Twitter account who posted that image should have clearly stated that he was going there first, rather than not include that and create all the hassle. Unless of course they did that deliberately to whip up hysteria, which in itself is immoral behaviour from a Government and they should be called out for it in the interests of a healthy society that is ultimately their responsibility to ensure we have.

What hassle?

 

[Mojo]

What hassle?

Presumably the number of comments from people advising that he is on the wrong train.

 

[AlterEgo]

The party's Twitter account who posted that image should have clearly stated that he was going there first, rather than not include that and create all the hassle. Unless of course they did that deliberately to whip up hysteria, which in itself is immoral behaviour from a Government and they should be called out for it in the interests of a healthy society that is ultimately their responsibility to ensure we have.

Immoral to post a picture of an LNER train going to “Manchester” to wind up train fans. Whatever next on the rail forums today!

 

[MattRat]

Immoral to post a picture of an LNER train going to “Manchester” to wind up train fans. Whatever next on the rail forums today!

Well, they claim to be pro train, and yet can't even be bothered to get the right picture. Probably just took the first image they found on Google without thinking, or should I say, their secretary did.

How can we trust these people to actually deliver on rail infrastructure with such a lazy attitude like that?

 

[JamesT]

Well, they claim to be pro train, and yet can't even be bothered to get the right picture. Probably just took the first image they found on Google without thinking, or should I say, their secretary did.

How can we trust these people to actually deliver on rail infrastructure with such a lazy attitude like that?

How is it the wrong picture? As noted earlier, he went to Leeds first. The photo is almost certainly from that trip.

 

[MattRat]

How is it the wrong picture? As noted earlier, he went to Leeds first. The photo is almost certainly from that trip.

Apologies, I made assumptions based on normal people taking direct routes.....

 

[nlogax]

What hassle?

Quite. The only hassle I've seen is courtesy of those who are specifically knowledgeable about TOCs and where they operate or otherwise. To most people a train is just a train and I don't know why this is so frequently forgotten.

 

[brad465]

What hassle?

Presumably the number of comments from people advising that he is on the wrong train.

Probably bad word choice on my part, but Mojo more or less covered what I meant.

Immoral to post a picture of an LNER train going to “Manchester” to wind up train fans. Whatever next on the rail forums today!

Not so much wind up train fans, but wind people up in general.

How is it the wrong picture? As noted earlier, he went to Leeds first. The photo is almost certainly from that trip.

As I said earlier, if the party Twitter account said in that tweet he was going to Leeds first, and I'm not suggesting he didn't go there, then that would have been fine. But it clearly said "We’re on the way to Manchester. We’re getting on with the job. We’re delivering on the people’s priorities."; there was no mention of him going to Leeds and he was pictured with an LNER train which we know doesn't go to Manchester. So I'd say the picture isn't wrong, but the caption is.

As an aside, it maybe worth moving all the posts about this story into a new thread?

 

[Cowley]

Probably time to get back on topic before we go too far down this route…

We had to go to Worcestershire today to pick an eBay purchase up in the van. I mistakenly drove past the garage near our house because I wanted to get a sandwich from the Tesco’s garage across town. Yes of course they didn’t have any fuel, and the only other garage nearby was a BP one that would only allow a maximum of £35.
Thankfully that was just about enough to get there and back and the light dinged on just as I pulled off the M5 on the way home.

 

[Butts]

I have just driven from Workington to Stirling. I passed 4 filling stations all had fuel and there were no queues.

This puts it into perspective, a reality check - it's not Nationwide !!

I wonder if there would be such a fuss on here and other outlets if London and the South East were not affected ?

 

[DelW]

Surrey / Hampshire borders: I passed a local filling station (on foot) at 10:15 this morning - sign outside saying "no diesel", but cars at every pump (I think they have eight) with another half dozen queuing up.
I came back past it again two hours later- no sign, no queue, no cars, no fuel, all the pump area was taped off.
So far I've yet to see one in this area that has fuel but no queue, in fact today was the first time the queue was short enough not to cause problems for passing traffic.

 

[gswindale]

'Panic buying' is a lie. People NEED fuel to: get to work, visit elderly parents, get to hospital, and for many, many other reasons. To call it 'panic buying' is to blame the victim.

So, as stated before:
I had enough fuel on Thurs 23rd to get home with approx 1/4 tank spare, but had a trip out at weekend so now have the light on for the first time in 3.5 years of owning the current car.

Have not been able to fill up since. Fortunately am able to work from home, but could do with going in to the office.

Also heading away for a few days next week. Need to fill up, but reluctant to do so if I have to queue (mainly as I've got better things to do, like watch paint dry!)

If not being able to fill up when you need to is not a result of panic buying, then I'd like to know what is?

 

[MattRat]

This puts it into perspective, a reality check - it's not Nationwide !!

I wonder if there would be such a fuss on here and other outlets if London and the South East were not affected ?

Well, the North is also less likely to trust the news

 

[telstarbox]

London / north Kent yesterday - passed 4 stations with no fuel and a short queue at the 5th.

 

[341o2]

Of the four stations local to me yesterday
Co-op, purchased fuel Sunday, 15 minute wait, status yesterday unknown
Shell Diesel only, empty by mid afternoon
Esso Empty
Texaco, on FB page stated empty October 2, next delivery due 7th

 

[squizzler]

It will be interesting to see the stats for rail use when they cover this “petrol panic period”.

I reckon rail will be making hay from those taking trips out of town and unwilling to take the risk of having to search for petrol in an unfamiliar town, where they don’t know the petrol retail offering very well.

 

[reddragon]

This puts it into perspective, a reality check - it's not Nationwide !!

I wonder if there would be such a fuss on here and other outlets if London and the South East were not affected ?

Half the UK population live in London & the South East

It will be interesting to see the stats for rail use when they cover this “petrol panic period”.

I reckon rail will be making hay from those taking trips out of town and unwilling to take the risk of having to search for petrol in an unfamiliar town, where they don’t know the petrol retail offering very well.

My local station, very quiet since COVID was rammed this morning as locally petrol has run out completely.

 

[Geezertronic]

A rather smug friend of my wife was happy he had an EV so decided to take a long distance trip at the weekend involving the M40 only to find that apparently the EV chargers at Beaconsfield Services were all non-working and there was a rather long wait for the working chargers there were at Cherwell Valley Services.

On the other hand, my son filled his tank at our local Shell petrol station last Thursday night (vPower) and I filled my Mother-in-Law's car up for her (as she was on fumes and was concerned about where to fill up) at our local Esso with no issues on Saturday despite the £35 limit as the guy let me use the pump twice.

 

[reddragon]

A rather smug friend of my wife was happy he had an EV so decided to take a long distance trip at the weekend involving the M40 only to find that apparently the EV chargers at Beaconsfield Services were all non-working and there was a rather long wait for the working chargers there were at Cherwell Valley Services.

On the other hand, my son filled his tank at our local Shell petrol station last Thursday night (vPower) and I filled my Mother-in-Law's car up for her (as she was on fumes and was concerned about where to fill up) at our local Esso with no issues on Saturday despite the £35 limit as the guy let me use the pump twice.

You do still need to plan and check operability of chargers. If you stick to Gridserve / Instavolt you are fine, other networks less so. Old Ecotricity are bad as in Beaconsfield

 

[westv]

In a moment of rare serendipity, on Friday took delivery of a brand new electric car. Ordered a month ago, so cannot decide if I should feel unbearably smug or exceptionally lucky ...

How much did that set you back - if you don't mind me asking?