Long fuel queues at several SPBU in Jember

Jember, East Java – Long queues of motorcycles and cars for fuel at several gas stations (SPBU) in Jember Regency continued on Friday.

“I had to queue at the SPBU because my motorcycle’s fuel had run out,” said resident Yuliati Ningsih from Kaliwates district.

At SPBU Tegalbesar, the queues were already long in the morning, not as normal as in previous days when queues were more orderly, she added.

“I deplore the public panic and stockpiling that caused the queues at SPBU Tegalbesar to stretch to more than 150 metres. I hope this situation ends soon,” she said.

Another resident, Hamidah, complained about queuing at SPBU Ahmad Yani as the fuel in her motorcycle was nearly exhausted.

“Usually I buy fuel every three days for transporting and collecting my children from school. I was surprised by how long the queue was today, as it is usually normal,” she said.

On-site, police were deployed to several SPBU to pre-empt undesirable incidents and to regulate traffic to prevent severe congestion around the stations.

Meanwhile, Jember Regent Muhammad Fawait urged the public not to engage in stockpiling with excessive fuel purchases to avoid longer queues at SPBU.

“Fuel stocks in Jember are currently safe, even abundant, so the local government urges people not to be influenced by irresponsible reports about a fuel shortage,” he said.

Pertamina confirmed that fuel stocks are plentiful, with Pertalite quotas in Jember at 584 tonnes and Pertamax at 279 tonnes, sufficient to meet community needs, ensuring stocks are secure.

Pertamina also stated its readiness to increase fuel supplies to Jember to keep stocks stable and prevent long queues at SPBU, and urged the public to buy according to need and not to hoard excessively.