‘It doesn’t make sense’: Richmond mayor in no hurry to allow self-serve gas stations

The state of Oregon has been the subject of significant online ridicule since it moved earlier this month to lift a ban on self-serve gas stations.

But right here in B.C., two municipalities still outlaw the practice — and at least one of them says that’s not going to change.

Both Richmond and Coquitlam have bylaws in place banning customers from pumping their own gas.

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Coquitlam is reviewing an application from Chevron to relax the rules, but Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie says it’s not going to happen in his city.

Speaking with CKNW’s The Jill Bennett Show on Sunday, Brodie said first and foremost, it’s a matter of residents getting the best value for money.

“We in Richmond get the full-service gas at self-serve price,” Brodie said.

“So why would we allow self-serve, thus increasing the price that you’d have to pay for the full-service gas? It doesn’t make sense.”

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Brodie said permitting both types of activity would prompt stations to add a price premium onto the cost of full-service, which would be bad for consumers — particularly those who have trouble pumping their own fuel.

“People have mobility issues, whether they have actual disabilities or they’re seniors or whatever. Pumping gas isn’t always easy and convenient for everybody.”

According to Brodie, Richmond’s history with full-service-only stations began in the 1960s, and was built around safety concerns and a desire to protect mechanic and convenience store jobs.

He said that while those concerns have faded amid changes in technology and the services offered by gas stations, the issue hasn’t come up since the early 2000s, and Richmond is in no hurry to re-start the conversation.

“Having full-service is not a panacea but I think it’s a far better level of service than self-serve,” he said.

“Here in Richmond, we mandate that it’s going to be a full-service situation and people seem to enjoy that.”

That may not be the case in Coquitlam.

Last summer, the city sent Chevron’s 2016 application to permit self-serve to its Universal Access-Ability Advisory Committee for feedback as it considers the move.