NYC taxis running out of fuel as gas lines grow

Justin Lane / EPA A man waits in line on 10th Avenue to get gasoline for his taxi at a gas station on Thursday as New York City tries to recover from the effects of Sandy. By NBC News staff and news services New York taxi and car service companies started pulling vehicles off the road Thursday as the post-Sandy fuel crunch deepened, with the vast majority of storm-hit service stations in the greater New York area now out of gasoline or power to run pumps. Power outages and fuel shortages have forced many gasoline stations to shut, and now threaten efforts in New York and New Jersey to get back to business after the superstorm. Many homes and businesses that have lost power are also reliant on gasoline and diesel run generators, including many of the Wall Street banks in lower Manhattan.  "We've had to cancel a lot of cars today because there's not enough gas," said Joue Balulu, a partner at Fone-A-Car in Brooklyn. "It's affecting everybody. Our drivers have to go out to try and find gas." "In New York City, over 50 percent of service stations are not able to sell gasoline, and it could be up to 75 percent," said Ralph Bombardiere, executive director of the New York State Association of Service Stations and Repair Shops. "New York City (gasoline delivery) terminals have power problems. For the individual stations, if they have product they don't have power and many, if they have power, don't have any product." NBC's Kerry Sanders reports from Yonkers, N.Y,, where an aerial view of the New York City region shows a traffic nightmare as officials set up checkpoints to make sure every vehicle has at least three passengers before they are allowed into the city. The gas crunch caused frayed nerves in some areas. State troopers were deployed at gas stations along the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, FoxNews.com reported. On Route 17 in south Bergen County, N.J., just west of the Meadowlands -- about 7 miles outside Manhattan -- the line for gas stretched across three towns, from Hasbrouck Heights through Wood-Ridge, and into Carlstadt, according to witness reports. A fistfight broke out Wednesday between customers at the Getty station on Route 59 in Monsey, N.J., the only functioning station in the area, Chiam Tzik, the station's manager, told Newsday. On Thursday morning, traffic stretched for at least half a mile on both sides of the road. For millions of Americans, Thursday morning marks day three of no electricity, and many will be without power for days to come. NBC's Harry Smith investigates why Sandy is the third storm in only a year to cripple the Northeast power system and whether it's simply part of a new normal. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy authorized the Metropolitan Transit Authority to waive fares Thursday and Friday as an inducement to get people to take mass transit instead of driving. In another move to reduce congestion, New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission announced Thursday that HOV restrictions on bridges have been lifted for liveries, "black cars" and taxis. Taxi drivers are accepting normal metered fares but are also permitted to accept additional passengers during a trip, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Taxi and Limousine Commission suggests $10 per additional passenger, but it's up to drivers and passengers to negotiate the final amount, the Journal reported. Zipcar Inc, a car-sharing company that rents out vehicles at an hourly or daily rate, said members late in returning cars in New York because of traffic or fuel shortages would not face the usual charges. "Any members who are willing to wait in line for fuel, we're willing to waive any late fees," said Dan Curtin, Zipcar's vice president of fleet operations in Boston. The firm is offering members in New York and New Jersey discounts until Friday. Fuel supplies into New York and New Jersey area are being choked off in several ways: Two refineries that make up a quarter of the region's gasoline and diesel capacity are still idle because of power failures or flooding; the New York Harbor waterway through which a fifth of the area's fuel arrives is still closed to traffic; and major import terminals are damaged and powerless.  The main pipeline bringing gasoline and diesel from the U.S. Gulf Coast refining hub, which pumps 15 percent of the East Coast's fuel, also remains shut. The gasoline shortage in the New York metropolitan area may not be cleared up for at least a week, industry experts tell CNBC. "What I'm seeing is here's a combination of problems. Power is at the root of it. That means gasoline that is already in inventory, already refined in those big tanks you see along the side of the turnpike, they can't get that gasoline into the delivery trucks without power," Sal Risalvalto, executive director of the N.J. Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association, told CNBC. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story. 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