An estimated 61% percent of all gas station owners are immigrants, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. In more recent years, gas stations have served as a financial spring board for newcomers, especially people from India. In the 1957 classic On The Road, Jack Kerouac described sleeping under a tree in front of a gas station for “two delicious hours,” then cooling down with a “rich, thick, milkshake.” In one stop, you could wash your windshield, stretch your legs, buy cigarettes or eat a snack. Growing up alongside America, they became destinations.
SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: A 76 gas station on Big Basin Way in Saratoga, Calif., on Monday, Sept. An attendant, in overalls and a cap, washed your windshield.
SPACE AGE GAS STATIONS FREE
These early stations offered fuel but also free air, water and the nation’s first commercial road maps.
SPACE AGE GAS STATIONS DRIVERS
With the growth of the highway system, drivers wanted a convenient fill up wherever they went – and by 1935, America’s landscape was dotted with 200,000 stations. Before service stations, motorists bought five-gallon cans of gas at a general store or livery stable, just like they bought kerosene for their lamps. This means that thousands of stations would go out of business.įueling habits have always changed with the times. That will jump to 35% in 2026 and 100% by 2035, as required by the state’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule.Īn analysis by Boston Consulting Group concluded that between 25% and 80% of the fuel retail market could be unprofitable in the next 15 years. “Cars don’t need as many repairs,” said Bambury, who operates the same Bonneau’s Schellville 76 on Sonoma’s Arnold Drive that his great grandfather founded in 1923.Ĭalifornians’ move to EVs, which need neither fuel nor oil changes, will help prevent a disastrous heating of the planet - and accelerate the decline of the gas station.Ĭurrently 16.4% of the state’s new car sales are zero-emissions or plug-in hybrids. There’s also less demand for grease monkeys. And few stations are still in the towing business, due to soaring insurance costs. But auto dealers are aggressively marketing long-term care contracts, pushing gas stations out of that business, said Bambury. Stations once supplemented their income with car maintenance and towing services. Gas retailers are exiting because of low margins on fuel sales and fierce price competition from big box stores like Walmart and Costco, he said. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)Įven before EVs, the nation’s gas station industry had been consolidating, with about half as many outlets now as in the 1980s, according to Jeff Lenard of the trade association Advancing Convenience & Fuel Retailing. “People don’t have the same fueling habit as with liquid fuels.” SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – September 26: Erin Graziosi, president of Rotten Robbie, poses with one of the electric vehicle charging stations at the Rotten Robbie gas station on Old Oakland Road, on Sept. “The charging stations are a loss leader, not a revenue generator,” said Rotten Robbie CEO Erin Graziosi, who has placed two chargers at a San Jose station that cost $180,000 and sit unused much of the day. And while the state’s grant money helps reduce the installation cost, the chargers don’t support themselves. At this point, stations are only adding chargers because they’re required by some cities and counties there’s little consumer demand, they said. Unless charging gets faster, it’s expensive and impractical, said station managers. And owners aren’t sure how much to charge consumers, because electric rates fluctuate. It demands much more power than traditionally needed by a service station. It requires a redesign of a station site.
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