London taxi drivers say fuel crisis isn't getting better

[LONDON] After nearly a week of panic-buying, London taxi drivers say fuel shortages in the city's gas stations aren't getting any better.

"The situation is absolutely no different today as it was earlier this week," said Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents half of the 22,000 drivers of London's iconic black cabs.

"Most fuel sites are shut, those that are not shut are very few and far between, have enormous queues, have all the fights and all the arguments and that kind of stuff."

Without fuel, some 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the LTDA's members have been forced to stay off work, with others driving around and waiting in line for hours in the hope of finding petrol.

The LTDA wants the government to enact an order last used in September 2000, which restricts the use of certain refuelling stations to key workers such as bus drivers, doctors and nurses, and taxi drivers.

But the request has so far fallen on deaf ears. "They're telling me it's not a national emergency," said Mr McNamara. "Why wait before it becomes a drama? Why not do something now?"

BLOOMBERG