Some attendants are already sick; social distancing is impossible at the pump; stations are cutting back hours or shutting down entirely
By Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight
With gas stations closing as attendants quit because they’re afraid of contracting COVID-19, a trade organization is asking the Murphy administration to lift temporarily the ban on self-service gasoline.
In a series of letters to Gov. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey Gasoline, C-Store, and Automotive Association is urging the state to allow self-service stations as a way of easing the staffing concerns and other issues its members are facing due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Attendants at gasoline stations — some of whom have already tested positive for the coronavirus — are walking off their jobs. Owners are trimming back how long the stations are open. Some owners are worried that if the pandemic persists they may end up closing their stations permanently, according to Sal Risalvato, executive director of the association.
TRENTON — State Senate President Stephen Sweeney has said it before and he’s saying it again: Drivers in New Jersey aren’t going to be pumping their own gas as long as he has any say in the matter. “I continue to support the full service requirement for New Jersey’s gas stations and I will oppose any… Read the rest of this entry »
Starting in October of 2017 New Jersey drivers will have to get out of their cars, swipe their own credit or debit card and enter a PIN before an attendant can can pump gas into their car, according to a report at NorthJersey.com.
Consumers will no longer be allowed to hand their cards gas station employees due to new credit card security requirements, The Record quotes Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association (NJGCA), an independent gas station owners group, as saying.
