Britain’s Fuel Crisis, Explained
Drivers in the United Kingdom have been racing to fill up their tanks amid days-long gasoline scarcity. The country’s newest problems as it emerges from the pandemic include long lineups at petrol stations and increasing gasoline costs.
Throughout London and the rest of the United Kingdom, gas stations have run out of fuel. However, the fuel crisis issue is not owing to widespread gasoline shortages. Instead, there is now a lack of qualified drivers to transport it.
Truck drivers are often older and retired. Simultaneously, driver trainees are experiencing difficulties in obtaining their licenses due to the pandemic. Transport firms have reported increasing truck driver salaries by 25% or more this year in order to keep them.
Additionally, the scarcity has impacted restaurants, which have been unable to acquire food, and grocery shops, which have been unable to restock shelves. Concerned by rumors of empty petrol stations, drivers have panicked in recent days, exacerbating the shortages.
Although Britain’s exit from the European Union exacerbated labor shortages, it is not the only reason. According to the Road Haulage Organization, a trade association for road transport companies, the United Kingdom is facing a 100,000-driver shortage. Around 20% of them are drivers who fled the United Kingdom after the country’s decision to exit the European Union.
To entice drivers, the government extended their daily work hours and streamlined the licensing procedure. Additionally, it has given 5,000 foreign truckers three-month work permits and suspended regulations prohibiting oil firms from coordinating deliveries.
The government’s backup tanker fleet will supply gasoline in the coming days to help alleviate the shortfall, according to Britain’s business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. Additionally, he said that there were indications that the situation was improving. As revealed by the Petrol Retailers Association, more gas stations reported having gasoline than in previous days.
Officials are expecting that regular buying patterns will return now that many Britons have raced to fill up their tanks in recent days, easing supply strain. However, in the event that the gasoline situation escalates, the administration has activated 150 military tanker drivers.
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