Johannesburg - Internet users have been providing a list of service stations in South Africa that had fuel supplies. The page called #gotpetrol was started on popular social networking site Twitter by Andy Parks.
By Friday fuel company Total SA said it was providing updates on which of its filling stations still had fuel via social media sites Twitter and Facebook.
The group said it was providing constant updates about where fuel could be found, and would continue proving this "valuable service" until fuel deliveries were back to normal.
On the #gotpetrol hashtag, the names of services stations with fuel, the street name and city were being tweeted since the early hours of Thursday morning.
Tweets were streaming through quickly from various parts of the country.
Some users gave their views on the strike by fuel workers, while others cracked jokes about it.
Automobile Association spokesperson Gary Ronald said the Twitter feed was useful and well thought-out.
He said fuel shortages were more widespread than initially anticipated, and spread faster than previous years.
“I think what has happened now is that the contingency plans by the refineries have not worked as well as they thought they would.”
This year motorists listened to the warnings ahead of the strike and had rushed to top up their tanks for the weeks ahead, said Ronald.
The 70 000 fuel workers from the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union, the Allied Workers Union, and the General Industries Workers Union of SA downed tools on Monday, demanding a minimum salary of R6 000 a month and a 40-hour working week.
Click here for an interactive map of fuel supplies.