London’s Fuel Crisis Eases With Fewer Filling Stations Still Dry

(Bloomberg) -- A fuel crisis in London and the Southeast continued to ease, according to the industry’s main retailer group.

The proportion of filling stations in those areas that are without fuel has now dropped to 12%, the country’s Petrol Retailers Association said, citing a survey of its membership. That compares with 13% on Wednesday.

The PRA is calling for an independent inquiry into the crisis to understand why it happened and look at the government’s response. Panic buying emerged a fortnight ago after BP Plc said a driver shortage was curbing deliveries to filling stations. 

“The recovery is simply not happening quickly enough,” Brian Madderson, the retailer group’s chairman, said. “We are into our 15th day of the crisis. There needs to be an independent inquiry into the crisis, so that motorists are protected from such acute fuel shortages in the future.”

In London and the Southeast, 17% of filling stations have just one grade of fuel while 71% have both. In other parts of the U.K., 90% have both fuels.

There is three times the capacity at filling stations outside of London and the South East than there is in the region, the PRA said. That, as well as the fact that there are more cars per household in London and the Southeast, likely explains why filling stations in the region are running dry more quickly, it said.

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