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With the introduction of additional increases in fuel taxes, the constant strikes of the gas station owners and the overall hysteria about the growing crisis turned the Sandanski-Serres road in a particularly busy thoroughfare. Residents of northern Greece have begun to regularly cross the border in neighboring Bulgaria, where they fill up their car tanks with cheap gas. In addition to cheaper fuel Greeks have an old tradition to make day trips into the neighboring country to shop and walk around. 

Christos Titis, President of the Hellenic Association for Consumer Protection, noted that ultimately the difference in price between the Greek and Bulgarian gas is not that great. According to data submitted by his association fuel prices in Bulgaria range from €0.98 to €1.20 per liter, which saves only 30 euro-cents per liter. In other words, the Greek citizen will save around €15 if the load is for €50. "This saving completely melts if we take into consideration that the distance between the two cities is about 100 kilometers," he says. Nevertheless, the President of the Union of Gas Station Owners in the region of Serres Georgios Katzoglou notes that in northern Greece there has been a decline in gas sales from 25% to 30% compared to the rest of the country. Borderline officers say that the traffic across the border has not increased compared to previous periods. 

However, the situation in areas around the border of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is different. According to the chairman of the union of gas stations owners in the Municipality of Kilkis Ioannis Maglousidis, Macedonian citizens who live near the border prefer to fill their tanks in Greece. The reason is the better fuel quality, although fuel prices in both neighboring countries are not that different.