Fantastic gas news from Oregon

[AC0GV]

Lawmakers have voted to nix the state's ban on self-serve gas. HB 2426 has passed Oregon's House and Senate, and is now headed to Gov. Tina Kotek for a signature. After that, Oregon drivers can pump gas themselves all though it looks like prices will be the same.. When I was there during the fires, I was at a station with long lines at the pumps, ashes falling on us, and we could not get gas because the manager had the pump jockey emptying the trash cans. Turned out the next station was only five miles away and the gas was almost one dollar cheaper.

[M_C]

How many people will lose their jobs? It will certainly eliminate a significant number of entry level positions in Oregon.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by M_C

How many people will lose their jobs? It will certainly eliminate a significant number of entry level positions in Oregon.

It is happening at a time when entry-level jobs are plentiful in many places. Eliminating obsolete jobs is painful, but preserving them is a weight on real economic growth. This is a smart time to do it.

[Donna D.]

How many people have complained about self-checkouts at grocery stores like Wal-Mart, etc. because they weren't trained or paid to do someone else's job, but then applauds when self-service fuel becomes a reality and people lose jobs. I can't wait to call out a few hypocrites.....


This irritates the heck out of me. The citizens of Oregon VOTED to have our fuel pumped and now our legislature have decided they know better than us.... jerks.

[Jon in AZ]

The legislature is not prohibiting anything. In fact stations are still required to maintain half their pumps as full service. This will be a real referendum in the real world, though it appears they are going to hide the real cost.

That vote happened decades ago in most states. I'm old enough to remember when there was a full-serve and a self-serve island at every gas station. With a real price difference, people voted for self-serve.

The old arguments (safety and environmental harm from pumping errors) are largely unsupported by evidence and mitigated by improvements in pump technology.

Comparing it to self checkout at retail stores is a false equivalence. The retail process is not nearly as standardized as using a fuel pump. Some stores are remarkably efficient, while others are rife with errors and glitches. I don't think any jobs were lost, at least not on the retail side. At Walmart, folks that used to be cashiers are now fulfilling online orders. Curbside delivery is the new "full service" option.

[jerrybob]

Will gas prices go down in Oregon as a result of less overhead when they get rid of all the attendants? I bet not. I get most of our gas in Oregon which is very close by.....in our state of Wash......gas has become more expensive then any other state because our stupid governor added a carbon tax that put an extra 50 cents on each gallon. Our local station is $5.09 for 87 oct......across the river in Astoria.....a gal of gas is $4.29. Life isn't fair.

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by jerrybob

... our stupid governor...

Since we're all into politics now instead of campers, I'll say I'm simply falling in love with your governor!

FINALLY someone who is standing up for the next generation and doing something about all the fossil-fuel subsidies that make it possible for old folks to to trash the environment for the future without paying the true cost of the damage caused.

It's wonderful that taxes are going up on gasoline.

Remember when 15 MPG Ford giant trucks were hard to even give away when fuel prices were high? That was a great day. People voted to buy much more fuel efficient vehicles which are much better for the environment.

So, YEAH! for increased gasoline taxes.

(Dear moderators, this is in response to a supremely silly political rant and is 32% tongue in cheek, so please delete it if you feel it needed. I'm not thin skinned at all. Also, I didn't call anyone names. Also, I'm an old folk.)

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

The legislature is not prohibiting anything. In fact stations are still required to maintain half their pumps as full service. This will be a real referendum in the real world, though it appears they are going to hide the real cost.

Yeah right. Middle of the night, small convenience store with pumps, one attendant. It's rain and windy and cold. Pump your own dang gas, I'm not leaving the warm comfort of the store....


This is a slippery slope and NOT what the citizens of Oregon who voted for it wanted. Dang legislature anyway!!!


Note the comments by those that don't live in Oregon.... seriously, why should they care....

[Perryb67]

I do care, and find it sad that we constantly find ways to unemploy people. Did that pump guy even add 1 cent to the price of gas? Perhaps.

I guess we need more homeless people living under bridges or trashing rivers, that dwarf the mythical immigrant problem, many of them veterans. We don't seem to care anymore.

Enjoy,

Perry

[DaveLevenson]

I think this leaves New Jersey as the only state where drivers are still not trusted to fill their own gas tanks. (Or has that changed since I moved from NJ four years ago?)

[Alex Adams]

I think of the person in small town Oregon who needs a job to feed their family. It can make more economic sense to pump gas at the local gas station where they either can walk or drive just a couple of miles to work than driving 20 to 40 miles a day to go to work at a Home Depot or department store in the next "big" town. Their paycheck isn't eaten away by commuting costs so they have more for their family. One of the biggest issues in small town America is there are not enough local jobs to give local folks economic opportunities.

[Travellers]

I don’t get the safety thing. People can’t be trusted to put a nozzle in a tank but I routinely connect a 250 kw cable to my electric car.

Just sayin

[floyd]

Originally Posted by M_C

How many people will lose their jobs? It will certainly eliminate a significant number of entry level positions in Oregon.

Not really... We waited for 30 minutes to get only a partial fill up when we visited Oregon while the lone attendant serviced eight or ten pumps, often wasting time in between cars.

Even though we didn't get a full tank, the attendant still managed spill gas down the side of my truck.
I say leave them to selling junk food, cleaning the bathrooms and emptying trash cans.
In the mean time, the diesel pumps had several vehicles come and go with no lines. (self-serve)


Personally, I don't even like a mechanic touching my truck let alone a pump jockey.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Note the comments by those that don't live in Oregon.... seriously, why should they care....

Nope, I don’t live in Oregon, and you probably don’t want to hear this but I do not want to be told that the law prohibits me from pumping my own fuel. My attitude results from an experience about 15 years ago when a gas jockey in New Jersey filled my truck with diesel instead of gasoline. Guess who had to foot the bill to have it towed to a Ford dealership and have it drained and cleaned. The attendant (presumably to keep himself out of trouble) claimed I told him to fill it with diesel; I did not. To the best of my knowledge, the Ford Ranger was never offered with a diesel engine. In addition to the the to the “remediation” fees it cost me an 8 hour delay, forcing me to fork over even more for a motel room. So frankly, I don’t care how the people in Oregon voted, I do not want some uncaring imbecile touching my vehicle. And I have avoiding purchasing fuel in Oregon when I have been in the Pacific Northwest for that reason. Just what do Oregonians do when they travel out of their State?

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

The attendant (presumably to keep himself out of trouble) claimed I told him to fill it with diesel; I did not. To the best of my knowledge, the Ford Ranger was never offered with a diesel engine.

Boy, am I ever not getting involved in the self-serve vs. full serve debate. I agree with Donna, I have no dog in this fight.

But I was recently surprised to see this ad in kijiji for a 1985 2.3L turbo diesel Ranger.
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...sel/1663820575

"Selling 1985 Ford Ranger XLT 2.3L Diesel. Runs and drives good. Completely rebuilt engine and injection pump. Repainted. Frame was sandblasted and painted. New body mounts, new tires and much more. Makes a nice daily driver. With 115L fuel capacity in both fuel tanks total gives you a 1300-1500km range. Starts in -30C° when plugged in no problem."

Could be an owner mod, I don't know. Floyd would know better then I. I won’t post the pictures. They aren’t relevant, other than to say that the truck looks to be in excellent condition.

[Alex Adams]

Diesel Rangers were offered from 1982 to 1987 and, unfortunately, at that time a diesel nozzle could be put into a gasoline receptacle. Can't happen with modern vehicles since the receptacles and nozzles are different sizes between diesel and gas.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Alex Adams

Diesel Rangers were offered from 1982 to 1987 and, unfortunately, at that time a diesel nozzle could be put into a gasoline receptacle. Can't happen with modern vehicles since the receptacles and nozzles are different sizes between diesel and gas.

I was not aware that there were diesel Rangers, now I know. But I clearly told the lad to fill it with regular before I went inside to get coffee. And I suspect his “lie” was believed because I got the impression he was the son of the owner or the manager. My Ranger was a pre-owned 1989. It was pretty much trouble free except when it was fed that tank full of diesel. I kept that truck for a long time. Had over 200,000 miles on it.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Yeah right. Middle of the night, small convenience store with pumps, one attendant. It's rain and windy and cold. Pump your own dang gas, I'm not leaving the warm comfort of the store....

Nothing has changed for you. You can still wait in the store.

However, now those Oregonians that voted against the self-service ban can now also obtain gas their preferred way.

Slippery slope? Maybe. The tryanny of the majority is a two-sided coin.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Nothing has changed for you. You can still wait in the store.

However, now those Oregonians that voted against the self-service ban can now also obtain gas their preferred way.

Slippery slope? Maybe. The tryanny of the majority is a two-sided coin.

Tyranny? Hardly, it's the citizens that originally decided and the ability to decide whether to continue the practice was taken away. I'm furious. I'm a voter, guess who I'm going to try to vote AGAINST?

And I wrote a confusing post or you misinterpreted. It's the clerk that stays in the store and I MUST pump my own fuel. And it WILL happen. I live where the wind blows November to March, it's often below 40 degrees and it's raining sideways. Wet feet, wet legs and hands that smell like gas. Oh JOY.


And Carl, the diesel fuel nozzle is too big to fit into a gas tank opening. Whatever happened to you 15 years ago won't happen now. Now it IS possible to put a gas nozzle into a diesel tank, but I understand that's easier to remedy.

[Travellers]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

And I wrote a confusing post or you misinterpreted. It's the clerk that stays in the store and I MUST pump my own fuel. And it WILL happen. I live where the wind blows November to March, it's often below 40 degrees and it's raining sideways. Wet feet, wet legs and hands that smell like gas. Oh JOY.

.

Just one of the reasons people like electric vehicles. Charge at home in the garage most of the time. 3 seconds to plug it in and charge overnight. Nice.