What took Mike so long?
Gasoline lines in the five boroughs were steadily shrinking yesterday, 24 hours after Mayor Bloomberg announced a gas-rationing plan to deal with fuel shortages cause by Superstorm Sandy.
Fully one week after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did the same thing in 12 storm-tossed counties in his state. Lines didn’t disappear — but they sure did grow shorter.
Rationing is something New Yorkers haven’t faced since the 1970s gas crisis.
Under the plan, cars with license plates ending in even numbers gas up on even days; cars with odd-number-ending plates are free to fill up on odd days. Emergency and commercial vehicles are exempt.
This makes total sense.
So, again, what took so long?
Lengthy lines for gas began within days of Sandy’s landfall. Motorists’ tempers grew short quickly.
Yes, rationing can be a major inconvenience. But the alternative has already proved unacceptable — between gridlock and angry motorists that have required the dispatch of cops needed elsewhere to gas stations, just to keep the peace.
Indeed, when cops arrested Sean Bailey of Queens last Friday after he pulled a gun during an altercation over gas, that should have been a clue to City Hall that it had a big problem on its hands.
That was the same day Christie imposed his own, similar, rationing system. From all accounts, that’s been working quite well.
Fuel is becoming more abundant as the wholesale distribution system returns to normal. In the meantime, considering the life-upending horrors that Sandy visited upon many other New Yorkers, requiring motorists to keep track of a license-plate number is a minor inconvenience.