Los Angeles to ration petrol

Press, 9 May 1979, Page 1

Los Angeles to ration petrol

NZPA-Reuter Los Angeles Petrol rationing is almost certain this week in Los Angeles, the “car capital” of the world. Already the queues at garages are more than a kilometre long. The Los Angeles County Authority, with more than 7M persons and 4M vehicles on the roads, has approved an “odd-even” rationing plan. Luder this cars with number plates ending in an even number may fill up only on even days and cars ending in an odd number on odd days. San Diego and Santo Clara also approved the rationing plan. Other counties throughout California are expected to do so today (New Zealand time). California has been one of the states worst hit by

the United States petrol shortage: less than one garage in five opened in Los Angeles on Monday. Garages are already forbidden to sell more than 20 gallons (92 litres) to a customer or to supply fuel to a vehicle whose tank is half full or more. Fist fights and at least one stabbing have occurred as garage queues grow longer and tempers shorter. In Washington President Carter bowed to critics and modified his petrolrationing plan to improve is chances of passage by Congress. The changes in the plan authorising him to ration petrol in an emergency led congressional leaders to predict tha* it might be approved this week. Under the new scheme, petrol coupons would be

limited to three cars a family, an answer to critics who complained that the rich would have benefited from the original plan giving coupons for each car. In Bahrain, Iraq, Indonesia and Oman were reported to have increased their oil prices. A well-informed oil-in-dustry journal, the . Ni-cosia-based “Middle East Economic Survey” said that Iraq had raised its prices twice in four days: by 20c a barrel effective from May 1 and by a further 40c to 50c a barrel effective from May 5. Indonesia had raised its prices by between 50c and $1 a barrel from May 1. Oman had raised its prices to $17.50 a barrel, effective from April 1 from $14.96 a barrel set on February 15. The indicated level of surcharge

would be about $2.30 a barrel, the highest in the Gulf area. In New Zealand, an overnight petrol-sales ban during the week is believed to be among measures in a new petrol-sav-ings package under consideration by the Government. The package will also probably include a substantial petrol price rise and a return to Saturday morning trading. The latter will provide some relief to service stations, mainly in rural areas, whose sales have been hard hit by the present week-end ban. The Government is expected to approve the new plan within two weeks. If it does an announcement may also be made that car-

less-day stickers will be distributed for motorists to display on their windscreens as a standby measure only. In Tauranga, the chairman of the Royal New Zealand Aero Club Instructors’ Committee (Mr H. Scott) said that restrictions announced on Monday on fuel supplies for general aviation could seriously affect aero clubs and flying schools. If they were maintained long-term they would disrupt the training of pilots for commercial aviation. Mr Scott, who is also the Tauranga Aero Club’s chief flying instructor, said that the cut in aviation fuel supplies to half of that used in 1978 would have an initial effect on the community activity of aero clubs, such as providing transport.