TIJUANA – At least 200,000 bus riders faced cancellations of routes Thursday as public transit companies scrambled to find diesel.
The crisis developed in the last few days after an avalanche of drivers from California began buying much cheaper Mexican gasoline, draining the local supply.
Some bus and truck drivers were stranded next to stations south and east of the city waiting for fuel deliveries.
All gasoline in Mexico is produced by the national oil monopoly Pemex and sold at franchise stations.
Managers at various gas stations said that they were told by Pemex officials that diesel would be distributed, but that it would be rationed, and only go to stations on the outskirst of the city, on the way to Rosarito and Tecate.
On 2:30 p.m. Thursday, a Pemex tanker delivered diesel to a station north of Rosarito Beach, which had 15 buses and cargo trucks waiting in line for the fuel.
“We've been monitoring the stations and we let each other know which station has diesel so we can go,” said Carlos Serrano, who drives an urban bus for the Rojo y Blanco line and who had been waiting in line for 40 minutes at the Rosarito station.
Representatives of the public transit companies Azul y Blanco, Verde y Crema y ABC said that their drivers spent Thursday “hunting” diesel. The companies canceled some routes to save their fuel, they said.
The city agency that regulates public transit estimated that more than 200,000 riders were affected by the shortage.
By Wednesday afternoon, however, most of the 25 stations in the city that sell diesel had run out.
It's unclear when more diesel will arrive in the region. The Tijuana association of gas station owners said they were told a a ship had been scheduled to arrive on Monday at the Pemex terminal in Rosarito Beach.
A representative of the Pemex plant, however, said the ship would arrive over the weekend.
The Mexican government heavily subsidizes gasoline. A gallon of regular unleaded (87 octane) sells for $2.54, premium (91 octane) for $3.19, and diesel $2.20, when it is available.
Omar Millan Gonzalez is a contributor to The Union-Tribune's Latino newspaper Enlace.
