{"id":50252,"date":"2017-09-08T00:40:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T00:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=50252"},"modified":"2017-09-08T00:40:59","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T00:40:59","slug":"irma-nears-florida-governor-tells-residents-use-gas-buddy-expedia-google-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=50252","title":{"rendered":"As Irma nears, Florida Governor tells residents to use Gas Buddy, Expedia, Google Maps & more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking at a press conference this morning, Florida Governor Rick Scott told state residents to turn to apps and other online resources, including Gas Buddy, Google Maps, Expedia and Comcast’s Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot finder, to help them find fuel, navigate safely, and stay connected both ahead of and following Hurricane Irma’s arrival.<\/p>\n

The lack of readily available gasoline, in particular, has been a huge problem facing the state – something that Scott admitted he knew had been “frustrating” in this time of crisis. Not only have some gas stations had long lines, many simply keep running out of gas entirely, as people prepare for possible evacuations by topping off their tanks.<\/p>\n

Scott said the state is doing everything it can to deal with the fuel shortages, including working with gas companies, distributors, federal authorities, and other states to get more gas to the state. He said law enforcement will even be tasked with escorting trucks to gas stations so they can get there faster.<\/p>\n

Related to this, the governor suggested that Florida residents use Gas Buddy if they’re having trouble finding somewhere to fill up.<\/p>\n

“The Gas Buddy app is a great resource to find stations with fuel,” he stated.<\/p>\n

Though better known as an app for finding the lowest-priced gas in your area, this solution has been spreading by word-of-mouth in local communities, as well.<\/p>\n

As it did for Hurricane Harvey, the app has activated its fuel availability tracker, which displays the stations lacking power and\/or fuel, as sourced from its user base. When you encounter a station that’s out, you can quickly note this in the app to help others. In turn, you can use this crowdsourced information yourself to locate gas stations that have fuel availability.<\/p>\n

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In an app update today, Gas Buddy says it made the icons for ‘no gas’ and ‘no power’ easier to read.<\/p>\n

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The company tells TechCrunch that it’s now seeing hundreds of gas stations across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina without fuel. It says the hardest hit cities are Miami (30% of stations are out of gas), West Palm Beach (29%), Fort Myers-Naples (20%), Tampa (13%), and Orlando (9% are out.)<\/p>\n

The app has seen a ton of usage following Harvey and ahead of Irma – its App Store ranking has jumped 150 spots over the past week or so, and is now in the top 50 Overall<\/p>\n

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In addition to Gas Buddy, Scott noted that the state was working with Google to keep its mapping app updated with the most current information on road closures.<\/p>\n

Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n