BP closes UK service stations 1:00
(CNN) -
In addition to dropping people off at nightclubs, train stations and shopping malls, the taxi drivers who work for David Lawrie are responsible for transporting passengers with disabilities and taking children to school.
But as petrol stations across the UK run out of fuel, those drivers have to make tough decisions about who can ride and who can't.
The UK military is poised to start supplying petrol stations after a shortage of truckers forced some to close last week, triggering a wave of panic buying by British motorists.
Drivers have been forced to queue for hours at the pumps that remain open, and local media have reported instances of violence between irate customers as tension mounts.
The United Kingdom enlists the army for the distribution of fuel due to the shortage in service stations
But people who don't drive could be the hardest hit.
"The taxi industry takes passengers with disabilities and children with special educational needs to school, and doctors and nurses who don't drive, or when their car breaks down - it's a vital, 100% fuel-dependent community service "Lawrie, director of the National Taxi and Private Rentals Association, told CNN Business.
Motorists queue to refuel at a Sainsbury's gas station in Ashford, England, on Saturday, September 25.
Lawrie said he had heard reports of taxi drivers in the English city of Colchester, that they had to stop driving for the weekend in order to conserve fuel in order to ensure that they would be able to transport students with special educational needs this week.
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"We have retirees who are confined to their homes, because we cannot reach them," he added.
Some drivers trying longer trips have been forced to abandon their cars after running out of fuel, while essential workers have reported that they cannot do their jobs without fuel.
The British Medical Association (BMA) on Monday called for emergency measures to allow healthcare personnel priority access to fuel, warning that "there is a real risk that NHS [National Health Service] staff will not be able to do their jobs, and to provide vital care and services to those who urgently need them. "
"Although the Government has said that it is putting plans in place to alleviate the shortage of drivers of heavy vehicles [trucks] for the transport of fuel, the results of this will not be immediate. Therefore, medical and essential personnel must have access priority to fuel so that it can continue its crucial work and ensure patient care, "Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA board, said in a statement.
A Shell employee holds up a sign informing a traffic queue that they are out of unleaded petrol on September 25 in Blackheath, London.
"People with disabilities are very concerned"
Long lines and confusion are causing additional stress for people with disabilities.
Emma Vogelmann, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and uses a ventilator through a tracheostomy, told CNN Business on Tuesday that her caregiver contacted her to say that she would not be able to see her if she could not get gas.
"It's a really stressful situation for her and me trying to figure out if she was going to be able to show up for a shift," added Vogelmann, chief policy advisor for the disability equality charity Scope.
In the end, her caregiver was able to find fuel, but people with disabilities across the country face similar stresses.
"People with disabilities are very concerned that their caregivers cannot reach them. A couple of people have contacted me to tell me that their caregivers have barely been able to reach them," Vogelmann said.
He urged people who fill up their gas tanks unnecessarily to think about the impact it has on others.
5 things: UK fuel crisis deepens 2:47
Workers could suffer
Private car drivers are also concerned about how they will get to work.
"Right now I have enough gas, but if I don't find anything today or tomorrow, I imagine I won't be able to use my car and that will turn my 25-minute drive into possibly an hour and a half," the medical student told CNN Business on Monday. Priyanka Oza, who added that the Greater London hospital where she works is poorly connected to the public transport system.
"I have to take several buses, or even go to central [London] and go out again."
Lawrie said that if the problem is not resolved soon, workers who depend on fuel for their livelihood will be affected.
"If there is no fuel, there is no income, because we do not use the fuel to go to work, but to work. So if we cannot drive, we cannot pick up passengers, but if we cannot pick up passengers, we have no income. So it is a huge problem, "added Lawrie.
Worker shortages are a growing problem in the UK, which has a record one million job openings.
The truck driver shortage has been exacerbated by the pandemic and Brexit, which has caused tens of thousands of European Union citizens to abandon jobs in the transport sector and other occupations in the UK.
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Gordon Balmer, CEO of The Petrol Retailers Association [PRA], which represents independent fuel suppliers, said in a statement to CNN Business that there were "early signs" that the pump crisis is ending, and there are more members. of PRA that are informing that they will make more deliveries of fuels.
"Fuel stocks remain normal at refineries and terminals, although deliveries have been reduced due to a shortage of truck drivers," he said, adding that a survey of members conducted Tuesday morning revealed that " only 37% "of service stations reported that they were out of fuel.
"With regular replenishments taking place, this percentage is likely to improve even more in the next 24 hours," he said.
The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a series of emergency measures to deal with the fuel crisis, including the granting of temporary work visas for up to 5,500 foreign truckers and the suspension of the competition law to allow the Suppliers supply fuel to rival operators.
The government said Monday that British Army tanker drivers had been "placed on alert" and could be used to deliver fuel where it is most needed.
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