EDMONTON – It’s not often you see a big drop at the pumps these days. But on Thursday morning, the price of gas at one station in Fort Saskatchewan went from more than $1.21/L price to all zeroes, causing a frenzy in the city.
The free gas giveaway was part of Shell Scotford’s Community Appreciation Day, which started at 8 a.m. and went for an hour and a half. It didn’t take long for a huge lineup to form on Highway 21 and Southfort Drive; RCMP officers were on hand to help direct the traffic.
Once vehicles made it to the Shell station, they were greeted by excited employees who normally work at the company’s upgrader, refinery and chemical plant in the area.
This morning, the 50 workers doubled as gas station attendants, pumping gas, wiping windshields, and even offering motorists free coffee and donuts.
“It’s been really good. They’ve been treating me wonderful,” said Larry Bruneau. He managed to get $91.02 in free gas after his daughter learned about the deal on Facebook.
“I rushed right down,” he said. “It’s almost like a legal gas and dash. It feels kind of weird.”
Next in line was Nick Plooy, and he was all smiles.
“I think it’s great. It surprises me that with the price of gas today that they’d be giving it away free.”
He says a full tank normally costs him close to $200. Today, his truck only needed $64.89 of fuel.
“That’s ok, that’s more than I make in an hour, so it was worth it.”
Aaron Adamkewicz managed to convince his boss to let him take lunch early so that he could take advantage of the free gas. He ended up driving away with $71 of it.
“As a student…that’s about the quarter of a textbook for me,” he said. “My car has not been this full in a long time.”
Shell says they had 184 vehicles take part, and gave away nearly 10,000 litres of gas during the event.
Here’s a look at the reaction to the event on social media:
It was an exciting day of some Fort Saskatchewan residents, as they were treated to a free fill-up by Shell as part of a Community Appreciation Day. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Twitter.
http://storify.com/trishkozicka/free-gas-giveaway-causes-a-frenzy-in-fort-saskatch
Follow @TrishKozicka
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