New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered gasoline rationing for New York City and Nassau and Suffolk Counties to reduce lines at retail gas stations after the nor’easter storm disrupted power to a terminal served by the Buckeye pipeline. New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg also issued a similar order, which will take effect at 6:00 a.m. on Friday Nov. 9.

According to Cuomo’s Nov. 8 statement, the rationing plans impose odd-even rules on the purchase of gasoline for non-commercial vehicles. Cuomo stated that Westchester, Rockland, and Orange will not have to implement fuel management rules at this time.

The rationing rules state that drivers with license plates ending in an even number will be able to buy fuel only on even-numbered days of the month. Drivers with license plates ending in an odd number will be able to buy fuel on only odd-numbered days of each month. License plates without numbers are considered odd-numbered under these rules. The Governor’s office stated that out-of-state plates are subject the same rules.

NYC's Bloomberg's order does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles, buses, paratransit vehicles, commercial vehicles, vehicles with Medical Doctor license plates, taxis, and other for-hire vehicles licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The Buckeye pipeline pumps roughly 4.5 million gallons of gasoline per day into New York City and Long Island. Although power to the terminal was restored on Nov. 8, the temporary outage disrupted the fuel supply. The Governor’s office stated that the fuel supply to the northern suburbs were unaffected by the terminal going offline.

You can read more of Automotive Fleet's coverage of the fuel supply challenges in the northeast here.

Updated 11/8/2012 at 4:00 p.m. PST with information about NYC rule.

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