Petrol in Edinburgh: Motorists in capital face ‘patchy’ supply as retailers warn of running out of fuel faster than supplied

Frustrated motorists face ‘patchy’ availability at the pumps in Edinburgh, amid warning from retailers that petrol stations are running out of fuel faster than deliveries top up supplies.
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The reports come after some petrol stations in the capital ran dry waiting on fuel deliveries this week, while frustrated motorists queued up and down the UK with some stations forced to close.

Retailers warned on Friday that signs of improvements were showing but ‘far too slowly’. The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents 5,500 independent forecourts across the UK, said around a quarter of garages it surveyed are dry.

Most of the pumps at BP garage Ferry Road not in useMost of the pumps at BP garage Ferry Road not in use
Most of the pumps at BP garage Ferry Road not in use
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Petrol stations at Murrayfield, Corstorphine and Edinburgh Airport were amongst those closed in Edinburgh this week due to a lack of fuel.

Workers at the BP garage at the airport told the Evening News they had supplies of unleaded and diesel after a delivery on Thursday night – but staff predicted they could run dry again over the weekend.

The BP on Glasgow Road had unleaded but no ultimate diesel available following a delivery. It was among several stations that had run dry at the pumps this week.

But the BP garage on Ferry Road had closed the majority of its pumps on Friday due to limited supply of unleaded and diesel.

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Sainsbury’s at Cameron Toll and several petrol stations in Edinburgh reported no high octane petrol on Friday.

While a continued shortage of lorry drivers has caused difficulties transporting fuel to stations across the UK, some forecourts have introduced a top up limit in a bid to stop motorists panic buying.

The EG Group has put a £30 cap on fuel. It owns 17 garages in Scotland, including the Shell Garage in Whitburn and two garages in Fife.

Meanwhile, Asda has also introduced a £30 limit, while the prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed to a 13-year high.

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Dan, a city taxi driver said: “It’s really patchy and so frustrating because you don’t know what you are going to get. I’ve seen some petrol stations completely dry in the last couple of days, but others operating as normal. The fuel prices are creeping up. I think people need to stop panic buying, that’s just making the problem worse.”

The UK government has announced that it will be temporarily adding 5,000 HGV drivers to the existing visa scheme to ease supply chain pressures.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said this week that the situation was improving and stressed that many forecourts have a "perfectly adequate, normal supply".

Gordon Balmer, PRA Executive Director said:

“In a PRA member survey today of 1,100 sites across the UK including motorway service areas, 47 per cent of sites have reported having both petrol and diesel in stock, 27 per cent have either one grade in stock and 26 per cent are dry.

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“Whilst the situation is similar to recent days, there are signs that it is improving, but far too slowly. Independents which total 65 per cent of the entire network, are not receiving enough deliveries of fuel compared with other sectors.

“Until independents start getting frequent supplies, we will continue to see long queues at forecourts. It is vital now to ensure we get fuel to all parts of the country in order to reduce queues and reassure the public again”.

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