The odd-even fuel rationing system that was put in place to ease long lines at gas stations following Superstorm Sandy, has been extended until Friday, November 23, Mayor Bloomberg announced Sunday.
The emergency order, which took effect on November 9, mandates that vehicles with license plate numbers ending in an odd number can only fill up on odd numbered days and those with even ones can only get gas on even numbered days, helped shorten station wait times.
Though Long Island and New Jersey have ended their gas rationing, with Thanksgiving, the busiest travel time of the year, this week, and about a third of the city’s gas stations still not operating, Bloomberg decided to continue rationing in the city.
“The odd-even license plate system has worked well and helped to reduce wait times and lines at the pump,” he said. “With 30 percent of gas stations still closed and a major travel week coming, I am extending the successful odd-even system on gas and diesel fuel purchases to ensure we do not risk going back to the extreme lines we saw prior to the system being implemented.”
