Litera G
 

GASOLINE

Before 1980, gasoline had a constant price, with rare rises, in negligible percentages. The first dramatic rise (called ?adjustment of prices?) came along in the summer of 1980, and then the price continued to rise periodically. Since the decisions were announced several hours before midnight, when the presidential decree came into force, hundreds of cars gathered in front of the gas pumps which formed huge lines, as people tried to stock as much gasoline as possible at the price before the rise. The pretext for these rises was the fluctuation of the petrol price on the international market; just that it was only the rises that were taken into account, never the falls.

In the mid ?80s, things went really bad? The ?rations? of gasoline were introduced, which established a given quantity per car owner every month. The quantity varied from one county to another. Bucharest had the better share, 40 l a month, but there were counties where the amount did not rise above 17 l? There was gas in the pumps only on certain days, when the tank cars came with the supplies, so that the drivers could wait in line for hours, or even days, without ever knowing whether the gas was to suffice for everyone in those lines which could reach 4 to5 kilometers. Therefore, much of the monthly share was spent on the way between the town of residence and the locality where the supplies were brought. That made room, of course, for illicit trade: the gasmen mixed the gas with water and then sold the surplus on the black market, in exchange for money, products or services.

In those days you could only find gas of 90 and 98 octanes, because the 75 (cheaper) sort had disappeared almost completely, and along with it went the trade with tetraethyl lead, stolen from companies that produced it, and which could help increase the octanic level. It was extremely toxic, it often provoked serious accidents.

The gasoline for the state automobiles was painted in red, so that it could be detected when it ended up in the private owners? reservoirs and thus could tell it had been stolen.

Despite all these measures, the drivers? appetite did not decline. Then, Ceausescu decreed that on Sundays, cars were to drive alternately: this Sunday the cars with even registration numbers, the next Sunday the odd numbers and so on. This caused big problems, especially during holidays. The ?weekend out? was also impaired: you could only have it every other week, or you could wait somewhere outside the city until midnight, when, tired and sleepy, you were finally allowed to go home.

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