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| 2008-05-16 - Weird News Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer Old-Fashioned Gas Pumps Pose Problems For Station Owners | ||
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Washington, D.C. (AHN) -- Reminiscent of the Y2K jitters that agitated the world at the change of the millenium eight years ago, a similar scenario is taking place in some gas stations across the country that still use mechanical pumps. Their gas pumps lack gears to register a sale beyond $3.99 a gallon. Gas prices, however, have exceeded $4 a gallon. That is the problem faced by gas station owner Cathy Osborne, who also runs the Orlean Market and Restaurant, a 116-year old store. The profit on fuel sales is slim. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't have $30,000 to invest in new pumps, and I'm barely skipping by," Osborne told the Washington Post. Osborne is not alone in her dilemma. Although the majority of gas stations in urban areas have gone high tech with digital screens and electronic credit card readers, about 8,500 service stations across the U.S. still use analog gas pumps, according to the Petroleum Equipment Institute. There are 170,000 service stations throughout the country. Her obsolete equipment has caused trouble for Osborne, whose pumps had to be shut down for false measurements. Osborne tried to find a kit that would alter the device, but she could not. One firm with a product that would permit pumps to display retail prices beyond $3.99 has several months' backlog orders. For consumers, the bigger headache was shelling out more money for the same volume of vehicle fuel. Some motorists on New York's Long Island responded by opting to commute. Gas stations selling below $4 a gallon, like the BJ's Wholesale Club on Route 110 in Farmingdale, had a field day tanking up cars. Its retail price for regular gas was only $3.83 per gallon for club members.
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