The U.K. will deploy its reserve tanker fleet on Wednesday and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Army drivers will be utilized within “days” as the government moves to ease shortages that triggered chaos at the nation’s gas stations.

The government’s reserve tanker fleet will be on the road Wednesday afternoon, driven by civilians, in order to boost deliveries, Kwarteng said on Twitter. Some 150 Army drivers were put on standby on Monday in case they were needed -- something the business secretary indicated may happen this week.

“In the next couple of days, people will see some soldiers driving the tanker fleet,” Kwarteng told broadcasters on Wednesday.

The government is trying to get to grips with the fuel crisis after days of chaos as long lines of vehicles formed at the nation’s forecourts, blocking traffic and provoking fights.

At the height of the disruption, more than half the country’s petrol stations had run dry on Sunday. While ministers and fuel retailers say the situation is improving, drivers were still experiencing difficulties finding fuel, and long waits to purchase it.

While the steps announced by Kwarteng could ease the shortages, the announcement of emergency measures carries the risk of triggering further bouts of the panic-buying that ministers say have compounded the crisis. It’s also not clear how much impact they will have.

A government document from 2017 indicated that it had access to an 80-strong reserve tanker fleet, but the current crisis has been sparked by a shortage of drivers rather than vehicles. Hoyer, which delivers fuel for customers including BP Plc, said it is short 50 drivers for its trucks.

Of the 150 Army drivers placed on standby, about half would be able to deploy this week if needed, with the others requiring more training, officials have said.

The timing of the decision also raises questions whether the situation is indeed improving, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has said repeatedly in the last 24 hours.

“The situation clearly is stabilizing,” Kwarteng said. “If we look at the inflows, the deliveries of petrol, they were matched yesterday by the sales.”

That message is backed up by suppliers, with the U.K. Petrol Retailers Association saying on Wednesday that the number of stations without stock fell to about 27%, from 37% a day earlier.

“We are expecting to see the easing continue over the next 24 hours,” said Gordon Balmer, the PRA’s Executive Director.

However, London taxi drivers said there’s little sign of improvement on the ground.

“The situation is absolutely no different today as it was earlier this week,” said Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents half of the 22,000 drivers of London’s iconic black cabs. “Most fuel sites are shut, those that are not shut are very few and far between, have enormous queues, have all the fights and all the arguments and that kind of stuff.”

Ministers have been struggling to show they have a handle on frequent ructions in the supply chain, of which the fuel shortages are just the latest example. During the pandemic, supermarket shelves have been left bare amid an estimated 100,000 shortfall of truck drivers.

Johnson’s opponents have blamed the Brexit deal he signed with the European Union for cutting the U.K. off from the bloc’s seamless labor market, a narrative the government has rejected.

By bringing in the Army, the government is trying to end the chaos and the attention on Brexit it has fostered. It is also a calculation that the dramatic image of soldiers in fuel trucks will be less damaging politically than appearing to allow the crisis to drag on.

The government has said it expects shortages to ease once the panic-buying ends, and again on Wednesday urged Britons to return to normal habits.

“We are working closely with industry to help increase fuel stocks and there are now signs of stabilization in the forecourt storage,” a spokesperson for the government said. “We have ample fuel reserves and remain confident the situation will improve in coming days. The sooner we can all return to our normal buying habits, the sooner the situation will return to normal.”