The scarcity of propane gas for vehicular and home use, the dearth of gasolines and diesel fuels in many of the service stations and the continuing prolonged blackouts are wearing down the people of the Dominican Republic. All the newspapers over the weekend and today carry stories of the results of these scarcities. Hoy says the lack of propane for the fleet of ?publicos,? those ubiquitous, often beat-up little cars that carry people along designated routes, has nearly halted passenger service altogether in Santo Domingo. The owners of the thousands of these small cars and vans had switched to lower costing propane gas, but now the continued scarcity of their chosen combustible has forced them to park their vehicles instead.
In spite of last week?s statements to the press made by the head of the refinery, Amaury Justo Duarte, who said that several ships loaded with millions of gallons of fuels had begun to arrive at the refinery, the shortages continue. This situation was confirmed by Juan Ignacio Espaillat, the head of the gasoline retailers? association, ANADEGAS. Many of the routes were being serviced by less than half of the assigned fleet of cars.
Drivers of the tankers that carry propane gas to the distributors said that it has been two days since the refinery filled any truck with that gas. The largest taxi companies in Santo Domingo reported that the reduced number of vehicles in operation was insufficient to fulfill the demand for service. Bus stops saw long lines of passengers waiting for the occasional bus. Yesterday, however, the refinery was servicing tank trucks with diesel and gasolines, and the situation, according to the drivers, was ?normal.?