A low-fuel light is triggering tinges of panic in many vehicles across the city.

Local gas stations have been without gas for days at a time over the last week, still crippled by the slow movement of fuel through supply pipelines, the after-effect of two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico more than three weeks ago.

For businesses, running out of gas while transporting cargo or delivering passengers could be very bad for their trade.

“When the gauge reads half a tank we tell people to start looking for gas,” said Gil Cartwright, owner of Gil & Curt Florist on the North Shore. His business operates four delivery vans, he said.

All American Taxi is employing a similar approach, and with 12 taxis roaming the area drivers keep in touch by cell phone, telling each other which gas stations are selling fuel.

“We’ve only had one person run out of gas, and that’s because his fuel gauge was broken,” said Randy Van Hooser, the taxi company owner. “But one of our drivers, at 2 a.m. last Saturday, thought they were going to have to quit early, because there just weren’t any stations open with gas.”

Small businesses already were cutting out trips and adding fuel surcharges before the hurricanes, but now — when gas is more expensive and hard to come by — Mr. Cartwright said he’s been forced to say “no” to customers more than he’d like.

“We can make deliveries downtown and on the North Shore without any problem, really. But if it’s a long trip, like to Ooltewah, we can only go once a day and that’s it,” Mr. Cartwright said.

He implemented delivery charges years ago and joined in a co-op with other florists to deliver flowers to Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain, trips that really can dent their fuel budgets, he said.

For landscapers, who haul large loads and use even more gas when they arrive at the job site, planning is really important, said Brenda Pitttman, office manager for A&J Total Landscapes.

“We use diesel, so it’s even harder to find,” she said. “We use the same gas station right down the road, and we’ve been really lucky. (The owner) tells us when he’s getting deliveries ... but sometimes we can only get 30 gallons at a time.”

In Nashville, the gas problem appears to have improved just as it was getting worse in the Chattanooga area. Last week, Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, told the Associated Press he was encouraging people to be calm despite apparent stress at the pumps.

“I know people are mad, believe me. I’ve been around the lines and I’ve seen people, and we’ve certainly had plenty of calls at the office,” he said. “But this is one where I’m just trying to be reasonable and not add to the problem by pounding my fist or pointing to someplace that isn’t the problem.”

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