Puerto Rico’s Very American Love of Cars Is Jamming Its Recovery
- The commonweath has one of the world’s highest auto-use rates
- Public-transit system was underused, unloved before hurricane
FEMA Facing Sharp Criticism for Puerto Rico Relief
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Only five months ago, Puerto Rico claimed the Guinness world record for the longest parade of classic cars: 2,491. Now, in the wake of Hurricane Maria, the island’s celebrated car culture has complicated the struggle to restore people’s lives and the commonwealth’s economy.
Drivers desperate for gasoline are waiting hours in lines that stretch half a mile or more. One in San Juan on Friday ran from Sixto Escobar Stadium, down the length of the Escambron beach, around a bluff overlooking the ocean, and past El Hamburguer and a KFC before arriving at a Shell station.