GasBuddy tops the App Store for the first time due to Colonial Pipeline attack
https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/gasbuddy-tops-the-app-store-for-the-first-time-due-to-colonial-pipeline-attack/
The GasBuddy mobile app, which typically helps consumers find the cheapest gas nearby, has now become the No. 1 app on the U.S. App Store for the first time ever, due to the fuel shortages in the U.S. that followed the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline. Americans, fearful that gas would become unavailable, began panic-buying in ways that haven’t been seen since the great toilet paper outage of 2020. As a result, thousands of gas stations ran out of fuel entirely. This dramatic situation has greatly benefitted the GasBuddy app, which includes a crowdsourced feature that helps users locate which local stations still have gas for sale.
As of Wednesday afternoon, GasBuddy says the effects of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown are being felt across 11 U.S. states, largely in the Southeast, and Washington D.C.. North Carolina had the highest number of gas stations with fuel outages, with 65% of stations reportedly out of gas as of 2:48 PM ET on Wednesday. Kentucky has the lowest at only 2%. Because this data is self-reported by GasBuddy users, it may not represent the most current information, we should note.