Petrol shortage – where can I get petrol near me before the Easter weekend?

Auto experts expect the upcoming Easter Bank Holiday weekend to be one of the busiest on record. Possible petrol and diesel shortages will not help the drivers

drivers in some areas have trouble finding petrol and diesel as there is high prices and shortages at pumps across the UK before the Easter holiday weekend.

eco-protesters like Just Stop Oil activists have targeted some fuel supply lines by blocking oil tankers.

It is a difficult time for motorists as the cost of living crisis is not being helped by rising and tight fuel prices. So a few handy tricks for finding petrol and diesel might be welcome.

Despite this, the predicted warm weather because this weekend could mean a few extra hopeful beachgoers taking trips to one of the busiest spots of the year.

With drivers hoping to avoid long queueshere are the best ways to prepare for this weekend.

How do I find gas stations near me?

Motorists looking for petrol and diesel should check this out Google Maps before you set off.

Maps has a handy feature that lets you search for the nearest gas station and see how busy it is with a bar graph.

The busier it is, the higher the bar and this may indicate that the station is being used well because it has fuel.

Compare them to other gas stations in your area and if some are empty but on a busy road, you might want to avoid them.

It doesn’t take into account things like local population, traffic density at a given time of day, and station popularity. You might go to a busier station and find that fuel is still not available.

Due to the nature of pump shortages, it is not always clear which pumps will be affected by a stopped oil tanker that fails to reach its destination.

How crowded will the Easter holiday be?

The Easter Bank Holiday weekend for 2022 could be one of the busiest in years, with over 21 million trips planned over the four-day weekend.

Good weather and the first bank holiday since all Covid restrictions were lifted could result in long queues across the country.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “After two years of relatively quiet Easter holidays on the roads, our research points to a return to levels of traffic much more typical of this time of year and it is very possible that this weekend could turn out to be one of those busiest for leisure travel in many years.”

Disruptions to rail networks and airports are also possible, making the problems worse.

Mr Dennis added: “Add in the impact of the disruptions on the rail network and one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar taking place this weekend and you have all the ingredients needed for trouble on the roads. Traffic levels are likely to be even higher when warm spring sunshine shows up.”

However, high petrol and diesel prices could discourage people from traveling.

Why are gas prices so high?

Gasoline prices are high due to a number of factors, but primarily due to high global demand.

Demand was already high before the war Ukraine erupted and in response to Russia’s attack on a sovereign nation, countries announced Sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s Kremlinincluding a commitment to move away from Russian fuel and gas.

This is less of an issue in the UK as it gets around 8% of its fuel from there Russia and hasn’t said it will phase out Russian power by the end of the year.

Mainland Europe is another matter — with more direct ties to Russia, some countries like Germany are far more dependent on Russian energy, making it harder for them to phase out.

If Germany turns its back on Russian energy, where it gets about a third of its oil supply, then it will have to compete more with Britain for fuel on the world market, driving up prices as demand rises.

To try to alleviate another price chaos, Chancellor Rishi Sunak Fuel tax cut by 5p in its last spring budget.

However, a reported failure by the forecourts to pass the cut on to consumers has angered some, and some have been accused of skimming the peak of a needed price cut for the everyday Briton.

Gasoline prices were already rising before the war broke out in Ukraine, which only made the situation worse. There were big queues last year People struggled to find fuel in September 2021.