CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many businesses, such as food trucks, rely on gas to operate. Any change in price or supply can heavily impact their businesses.

What You Need To Know

  • A ransomware hack shut down the Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline serving the East Coast

  • The pipeline delivers about 45% of the gas to states in the Southeast, according to GasBuddy, a website that tracks gas prices

  • The average price for a gallon of regular in the state went up about 10 cents since Monday, according to AAA

Michael DuBay has owned the Taco Green-Go food truck in Charlotte for eight years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he hit a slow patch and decided to venture across the country for new recipes.

“The stuff I have found in my travels is just phenomenal,” DuBay said.

Now that he has perfected his food, he has another hurdle. It’s the gas shortage. He usually goes through half a tank a day.

“Maybe $30 a day in gas, and I also run a generator under here as well,” DuBay said. 

He has seen the pictures and lines of cars waiting for gas. He thinks many drivers are overreacting. It reminds him of a similar shortage.

“It’s exactly like toilet paper and people are going to make a run on it,” DuBay said.

Before the fuel shortage, gas prices have been rising steadily. DuBay said this was already taking a toll on his profit margins. If prices continue to rise, he says he will have to increase the price of his food. It’s a lot happening at once, but overall he is trying to remain calm.

“You have to remain calm and really only worry about what you can control,” DuBay said. “If I can’t control it, then it’s only a waste of energy.”