People are in a hurry and it shows on the street. two years of pandemic have been exhausting. AND when they began to turn their backs on the health crisis, not because there is no longer covid, rather because everyone is very tired of talking about it, of wearing a mask, of having an eye always attentive to make sure that no one coughs near them, the war came. And now, it’s not just lamenting the humanitarian tragedy, is to live its economic effects at a distance. A day to day altered by price increases and the threat of shortages, not to mention that latent risk, which, okay, surely will not happen, of nuclear holocaust.
And all this has caused, logically, exhaustion, frustration, disappointment in the best of cases; feelings that came from many of the people of Barcelona who went to refuel at gas stations this Thursday, in which the numbers reveal that prices have reached unknown heights, a ‘recod, the Everest of two euros per liter of fuel. Two euros that give for about 15 kilometers of travel. Expensive.
“A customer yelled at me: ‘Stop raising the price!’& rdquor ;, explains still astonished the operator of a gas station who prefers not to reveal his identity. “I told him that as soon as I got to my yacht I would take it down. I see people who are very bad. I tell them that I just started working here, that I don’t know anything about it. They complain about everything & rdquor ;.
The barrier of 100 pesetas
“In 35 years at this gas station I have never seen this. When I started we reached the psychological barrier of 100 pesetas (about 60 euro cents) per litre”. It counts Juan Morales, 61, employee of the station that is at the intersection of Paseo de Sant Joan and Diagonal. He has been working there since 1987.
What he does remember about that world without internet is how the queues were formed at which the price would increase a little: “They announced on the news that there would be a rise and everyone flew to the gas station & rdquor ;. Clients talk to Morales about it constantly, because a few weeks ago the rate was rising: “They think it’s crazy. One who goes by motorcycle told me that he will go to the train & rdquor ;.
“Give me 500 euros!”
Gas station workers are among the people who know the price of fuel first. The notice arrives in the afternoon and the last operator changes it before closing. That in establishments that, like this one, close at night.
Morales interrupts the conversation. Has arrived David Cardiel, 50 years old, real estate salesperson, a kind man who looks for the positive side of the situation: “At least we are healthy and they don’t bombard us & rdquor ;. This Thursday, at the gas station the rates are as they are: the diesel at 1.93 euros, the cheap one, and 2.02 the expensive one. Gasoline, at 1.97 for 95 and 2.12 for 98. “Give me 500 euros! & rdquor ;, jokes Cardiel upon arrival. Filling his motorcycle has cost him 17.4 euros. Two weeks ago he paid 15. Before it used to cost him 12. “There are days when I spend two deposits. There are weeks when one every three days & rdquor ;. Resigned, he assumes the situation with the best face.
Jordi Membrado, 52 years old, car salesman, of a store that sells Audi vehicles, does not believe that the rise will reduce purchases, because 80% of its customers choose leasing and because it is their high-end product. An almost exceptional situation among drivers who go to refuel. Because Héctor Renedo, 32, a store manager, has begun, he says, to pay attention to the price of gasoline that he puts in his motorcycle, when before he did not.
maximum discomfort
At the Diputació gas station with Roger de Flor, discouragement breaks loose. Here the diesel is 1.98 euros, the cheap one, and 2.06 the expensive one. Gasoline, at 1.97 for 95 and 2.119 for 98. Enrique, 59 years old, an employee of the place, believes that the Government has to act: “The State keeps 55 cents of each euro that people pay. You have room to reduce your share & rdquor ;. That diesel is more expensive than gasoline, as it happens at this refueling point, seems incredible to him. The same thing happens to three young people who stop at the price sign and can’t believe it.
Cristian Ibáñez, 26, an engineering student, doesn’t ride a motorcycle much. Three years ago he filled with just over five euros. Today he pays 7.76. It’s not much, he says, if it’s from time to time. But more common is the driver of a van whose full cost usually 110 euros and that this Thursday pays 176 euros to refuel completely. “The figure is scary & rdquor ;, emphasizes the driver, who celebrates that the car belongs to the company.
“They are going to extinguish us all & rdquor;
Next to him parks a motorcyclist who does not want to give his name, who does not want to take off his helmet, who refuses to pose for the photo and who says that he is in the process of leaving the motorcycle because he cannot afford the cost of gasoline: “It’s that if I don’t I won’t be able to pay the rent & rdquor;. His tone is apocalyptic: “They are going to make us all extinct. Right now they are listening to us & rdquor ;.
Maybe he’s joking. The one who does not joke is Meritxell León, 51 years old. She can’t take it anymore: “I’m tired of everything that’s happening. Of a system that does not work. We live worse than animals. I don’t think life is like this”. He leaves on his motorcycle and a taxi driver arrives looking like he’s about to explode, who refuses to comment on the situation: “I do not want to talk. I am very burned. I am ruined & rdquor ;. And the taxi driver also leaves, with the face of not being there so that no one touches his morale.
About 100 meters is parked Esteban March, 56 years old, 14 years doing the taxi. He takes it more philosophically. Given his profession, he argues, there aren’t many alternatives: “If they put gasoline at four euros a liter, I would also have to go to work & rdquor ;. His formula is simple: when the day he developed up to now ends, he adds one race per day to compensate for the increase in fuel cost.
“It’s also that there isn’t much work & rdquor ;, warns March, who doesn’t understand how the taxi doesn’t have access to cheaper diesel: “It’s a public service & rdquor ;. Another that misses a more drastic government action.
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low cost
An option to scratch your pocket a little less is to go to a ‘low cost’ gas station. There is one on Calle de Badajoz, not far from Glòries. Here, gasoline costs 1,839 a liter, and diesel, 1,839. The price may be lower because there are no employees, no store, no services. Juan Duque, 39 years old, commercial, He lives nearby, in Almogàvers, and refuels here. “Before I put seven euros to fill out & rdquor ;. Today, 9.88.