East Brunswick Gas Station Dropping Prices To Encourage 'Self-Service'

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ —A Sunoco in East Brunswick will drop its prices Friday to encourage public and political support for self-service at the pump.

Seventy-eight gas stations throughout New Jersey will offer lower, "self-serve" prices on Friday. The discounts are part of a campaign to push state lawmakers to add self-service options at the pump.

The initiative was organized by Fuel Your Way NJ — a coalition "comprised of business and industry organizations" that advocates for New Jersey to allow drivers to pump their own gas while maintaining full-service stations.

The Fuel Your Way NJ Self-Serve Day of Awareness is designed to show the public how much they could save if New Jersey allowed customers to pump their own gas, according to organizers. State lawmakers introduced a measure in March that would add self-service options to stations, but the Motorist Fueling Choice and Convenience Act has stalled in the General Assembly.

The Sunoco at 784 Route 18, East Brunswick will discount prices Friday.

• From March 3: NJ Self-Serve Gas Bill Is About Choice, Assemblymember Says

Discounts will vary at each station, since every business has costs on expenses such as labor, according to Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline, C-Store and Automotive Association — a group of small-business owners that have advocated for self-service legislation.

"Members have estimated to us previously that the cost per gallon of labor ranges between 7 and 23 cents," Risalvato told Patch editor Josh Bakan. "Each location will determine how much discount they will offer for the day on Friday."

New Jersey is the lone state with no self-service option. Current state law, which came into effect in 1949, says it is in the public interest for station attendants to pump gas, to reduce fire hazards. Anyone who violates state law can be fined $50-250 for a first offense, and no more than $500 for further violations.

The Motorist Fueling Choice and Convenience Act would maintain full-service options at each station, while giving consumers the choice to pump their own gas. Under the bill, disabled drivers can still have their gas pumped at the lower, self-serve price.

Patch's Josh Bakan contributed to this report.