Oregon Finally Legalizes Pumping Your Own Gas After 72 Years

[Twisted Shifter]

After a 72-year reign, Oregon’s self-service gas prohibition has been decisively repealed in the state Senate. Though there have been intermediate years and exceptions, notably in rural counties in 2017, and during wildfires or heatwaves since 2020. House Bill 2426 as proposed would require gas stations to staff half of the available pumps, but allows the other half to be self-service.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oregon-finally-legalizes-pumping-your-own-gas-after-72-years/ar-AA1cZBBc?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=80ce7eb075bf48498089b7cf23ef906f&ei=93

[cudaman]

So is New Jersey now the last holdout?

[Leif in Calif]

I remember when "self service" first came in. I thought "Who'd want to pump their own gas, just to save a couple of pennies a gallon".

I also thought selling water in a bottle was a crazy idea. 

[Frank DuVal]

I was an early adopter of self-service. Save two cents on 35 cents is 6% savings! Better than my savings account at the time. I could fill the '56 Buick for $5 back then. 

 

I've never understood the prohibition of self-service. We got self-service grocery stores around WWII.

[rocketraider]

I like self-service because I have control of how much gas goes in the tank. I especially like pay at the pump, though a couple stations around here are bad about not keeping the pump receipt printers working so I still have to go inside to get it. If it doesn't print me a receipt, the vehicle stays parked at the pump till I go inside and the receipt is in my hands. Don't care how many people are waiting in line.

 

I'm also a little anal about knuckleheads with cigarettes, cellphones or other things that can light off fuel vapors. 

 

But there are people who have absolutely no business operating a gas pump.

 

Just wait till hydrogen fueled vehicles are reality and in common use. I'm trained in offloading and handling hydrogen and I'm still uneasy fooling with the stuff. Imagine your typical minimum wage and barely trained pump jockey handling such an explosive substance. Then think about an untrained person trying to self-serve their vehicle's hydrogen cell.

 

💥🔥

[Bloo]

I think Oregon tried to stem the tide and save full service. It didn't really work as they probably expected. Across the border in WA we got self service gas in about 1972. Full service died out almost immediately. In the late 80s there were still a very few traditional gas stations around that had full service on one or 2 pumps at a higher price. A few would pay the difference. Traditional gas stations with service bays are all gone in WA now, most of them decades ago.

 

What Oregon got for their trouble was the some kid paid to pump gas at the mini mart and do nothing else. To be fair, it did slow the change a little. I have seen at least 3 traditional gas stations with service bays in Oregon still open in the last 5 years or so. My neck just about snapped when I saw the first one. I think it was in Astoria.

 

[Bloo]

On 6/26/2023 at 1:29 PM, Leif in Calif said:

I also thought selling water in a bottle was a crazy idea. 

Evian. Whenever I see that I imagine a giant ship, steaming across the ocean from France, full of water.

 

[rhettblake33]

Yes, that's correct. As of January 1, 2023, it is now legal for people in Oregon to pump their own gas. This is a major change for the state, which has had a law prohibiting self-service gas since 1951.

 

The law was passed in response to concerns about safety. Opponents of self-service gas argued that it would lead to more spills and accidents. They also argued that it would take jobs away from gas station attendants.

 

Proponents of self-service gas argued that it would give consumers more control over the price of gas and that it would make the process more efficient. They also argued that it would create jobs in the oil and gas industry.

The law was passed by the Oregon legislature in 2021, and it was signed by Governor Kate Brown. The law went into effect on January 1, 2023.

It is still too early to say what the impact of the law will be. However, it is likely that some gas stations will continue to offer full-service, while others will switch to self-service. It is also likely that the price of gas will vary depending on whether the station offers full-service or self-service.

[JFranklin]

Most stations in Oregon will still have to offer full service on half the pumps at no extra cost. I do enjoy full service.

[leomara]

I live in New Jersey and having pumped gas as a job in my youth know it's dirty and miserable in inclement weather so I'm no fan of self-service. 

[newmexguy]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:53 AM, rhettblake33 said:

Yes, that's correct. As of January 1, 2023, it is now legal for people in Oregon to pump their own gas. This is a major change for the state, which has had a law prohibiting self-service gas since 1951.

Was there "self service" anywhere in 1951? 

 

[8E45E]

On 7/4/2023 at 5:04 PM, rocketraider said:

I especially like pay at the pump, though a couple stations around here are bad about not keeping the pump receipt printers working so I still have to go inside to get it. If it doesn't print me a receipt, the vehicle stays parked at the pump till I go inside and the receipt is in my hands. Don't care how many people are waiting in line.

I prefer pay-at-the-pump because I don't get stuck behind the lineup of people buying lottery tickets, cigarettes, and their morning coffee!

 

Craig