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> The only excuse for the law being around so long was that it created jobs. That may have been one excuse, but as a long time Oregonian my recollection is tha
by rootusrootus 3y ago
> The only excuse for the law being around so long was that it created jobs.
That may have been one excuse, but as a long time Oregonian my recollection is that the real reason is voters have rejected it when it did come up for a vote. People liked the idea of citing in their car and letting someone else do the work.
> They intentionally kept the gas tax lower in the state so consumers didn't notice the price difference
I recall once reading that the cost of insurance on a self-service station isn't far off the cost of staff, and it's mostly a wash overall.
> waiting for the "service" could sometimes be longer than the fill-up itself.
These days, Costco runs a massively efficient assembly line fill-up procedure, and self-service might well be slower. At quieter stations that may not be true. Even then, it depends on if you can navigate around the cars that are just parked in front of a pump while they are shopping inside the convenience store.
- derefr 3y ago> People liked the idea of citing in their car and letting someone else do the work. I like that idea too. But I don't like the idea of forcing a human to do the work. I like the idea of legislating for standardized interfaces between gas pumps and gas doors on cars, such that it becomes possible to build "full service" robot gas stations. I think the only reason this hasn't been pushed for, is that the automotive-sector companies with the robotics expertise are all electric-car companies. (Or hydrogen-fuel-cell car companies — lotta robotics people in that space.)
- admax88qqq 3y agoPumping gas is already 95% automated. A human is only in the loop to make the connection between the pump and the vehicle. It's not that much more work for a person driving in to a station to also connect the pump to the car.
- briffle 3y ago> That may have been one excuse, but as a long time Oregonian my recollection is that the real reason is voters have rejected it when it did come up for a vote. People liked the idea of citing in their car and letting someone else do the work. About once a year or so, I get a person at the pump behind me that is FURIOUS that I am pumping my own fuel, and start yelling at me. They ignore what I say, until the station employees confirm with them that yes, it is legal to pump your own Diesel in Oregon, just not gasoline, since gasoline is flambile. (the existing law is governed by the state fire marshall). They are usually grateful, since they are always down at least one attendent, and busy as heck.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago> I recall once reading that the cost of insurance on a self-service station isn't far off the cost of staff, and it's mostly a wash overall. If this were true, then there would be gas stations with attendants in the other 48 states.
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoMaybe if they hire them at minimum wage it’s a wash? But the problem now is very few people are willing to work for minimum wage, so they are closing down pumps because they can’t staff them.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoI never saw a gas station attendant in 3+ decades all across the United States except in New Jersey and Oregon, so that is not true either. 99.9999% of gas stations have been self serve for a long time unless there are laws requiring them to not be.