Drivers grapple in the Big Apple over gas rationing after Sandy

NEW YORK (AP) -- A return to 1970s-era gas rationing in New York City and Long Island seems to have helped with hourslong gas station lines that formed after Superstorm Sandy.

But it hasn't ended a fuel-gauge fixation that has suddenly become a way of life for drivers in the nation's largest city.

Motorists in New York City and Long Island on Friday began dealing with a new piece of fallout from the monster storm: odd-even gas rationing. Police monitored the lines.

Industry officials at first blamed the gas shortage on fuel stations that lost power. They say the problem now is that supply terminals are shut or operating at reduced capacity.

AAA spokesman Michael Green says drivers are also quicker to top off tanks because they're afraid gasoline won't be available.