Vehicle owners across cities rushed to petrol pumps to get their fuel tanks filled as soon as the news of biggest-ever fuel price hike broke.

This mad rush to save a few bucks resulted in long queues and prolonged waits at petrol pumps.

Most petrol pumps in Delhi were overcrowded and the waiting time was more than 15-50 minutes. Reports from Chandigarh said serpentine queues were seen at filling stations shortly after the government announced a hike in the prices of petrol and diesel.

Barely an hour after the news spread that the Centre had hiked the petro prices, people came out of their offices and business establishments and headed straight towards the petrol pumps. About 70% of petrol pumps in Chennai were shut down, saying they ran out of stock.

There were long queues of buses and two-wheelers in other which were open for the day.

But is it really worth the effort for just a tankful of fuel? The maximum capacity of the fuel tank of a car is around 30 litres. So even if one gets a fuel tank filled, all one can save is just Rs 150 on petrol and Rs 90 on diesel. The savings on scooters and motorbikes is far less as their tank capacity is only around 10 litres.

“For people who commute regularly, a saving of Rs 150 won't really matter much; more so if one has wait in the queue for so long. But, we Indians rush to get fuel tanks filled at even discussion of a price hike. The phenomenon is common across all kinds of vehicle owners," says an auto analyst.

Aditya, a student says, "I know I am not going to save much by getting my tank filled today, but I commute by motorbike every day and any saving is good for me."

The hike in fuel prices on Wednesday was the biggest in 12 years. The common man is already getting the jitters about the possible trickle-down effect of fuel price hike.

Vinay Singh, a marketing executive, says, "It is just not about fuel price. Now, the prices of vegetables, fruits and daily essentials too would rise. It would hit our pockets hard."