05/23/2007

The Associated Press
Customers line up at a Meijer in Lansing before gas prices rise Tuesday.

Motorists scramble after getting text-message alert

LANSING (AP) — Meijer Inc. sent out its first text-message alert Tuesday to motorists warning gas prices were heading up, causing long lines at its mid-Michigan stations.

Gasoline prices rose from under $3.40 a gallon to nearly $3.70 at many stations during the day. Meijer prices rose from $3.37 a gallon to $3.65.

Sheila Jones, the gas station team leader at Meijer in Delta Township, said she walked into the gas station at 11 a.m. Tuesday and the lines already were stretched across the parking lot.