You can pump your own in parts of Oregon now

We could do another 12 pages easy on folks taking forever to fuel for no apparent reason. Get some gas, stay parked at the pump, go inside and have a sit down lunch.

jfkmk wrote:
My question for those opposed to self serve is, just because YOU don't want to pump your own, why do you want to force those who want to pump their own to have to wait for an attendant?

Allow me the answer on their behalf. I’m not one of “them.”

Someone who wants full serve is getting subsidized today since there is only one price. If they allow self serve, they will have to consciously choose the higher priced island.

Also, many if not most stations won’t even offer full serve if self serve is allowed, leaving those who don’t want to without the option.

Again, not my concern but can see the reasoning.

As for speed, I’ve had plenty of long wait times out of state waiting for slow self servers or even vacant cars. Waiting for the attendant is only an issue at a few super busy or under staffed stations. If I’m at one of those, I pull the gas cap and get my card ready to move the process along faster.

I live across the river from Oregon where we pump our own fuel. Go to a Costco in S. Washington and the lines are slow from most people not knowing what they are doing and being distracted by their phones. Cross the river and go to an Oregon Costco for gas and their station is a machine. Their attendants are much faster at dispensing fuel and the waits are less and the price of fuel is less.

D.E.Bishop wrote:
In what other state would the County Tax Collector go to your ocean view home and measure the windows that provide an ocean view and use that as a basis for you property taxes.

That's OK ... if Oregon would combine it with their version of "Prop 13" so that after still living in one's same home for 30-40 years the Tax Assessor's Office continued to tax you based on the size of your windows 30-40 years ago ... like is done here in good old California. :B

Back on topic - I sure wish Californians would Californicate Oregon faster/better so I could pump my own gas in Oregon like we can here in California so I could fill my RV tank to it's real top by using the pump handle angles and taking the time to do it that an attendant won't take, ever. :B :B

Oh my! The Los Angeles Times rag just printed an article regarding this topic, it seems that the OR legislature is sending out rebuttals to the quotes listed here and widely circulated around the country. I guess they want us to know that they are not stupid and unable to pump gas.

Oregon is, it seems, a little slow in adapting to common practices found in 48 of the fifty states. OR by design is a contrary state and it is clearly illustrated by a professor in a series of books he wrote about Oregoonians.

In what other state would the County Tax Collector go to your ocean view home and measure the windows that provide an ocean view and use that as a basis for you property taxes.

There used to be stations in my travel area where you had both "Self Serve" and "We pump" islands.. Generally it was about 5 to 10 cents as I recall, but that said.. BEEN A WHILE. someone said 7 cents in Oregon.. (Well that's about the middle of my memory).

I'm just wondering if those that think we Oregonians are too stupid to pump our own gas, do you think we never leave the state? How many do you think are from another state? Last I read Oregon is 5th on the list of people migrating to other states. People from all over the U.S have moved here. Just seems very ignorant to think that all Oregonians know nothing about pumping your own gas.
Oregon got 1st place as a readers choice for states to travel to. Must not be all that bad to have to sit in your RV while someone pumps your gas.

badsix wrote:


if that's what it takes to make you feel self sufficient i'm sorry for you. as for me and most of the people of Oregon we like our gas pumped. if you don't like it stay away, if it bothers you I suggest you read a book or something to get your mind off of it, you'll feel better.
Jay D.

Bought fuel in OR one time. I pulled in with a diesel and started pumping, then got confronted with the bull stuff. While diesel might be OK to pump, tell that to the attendants that need something to do. Glad that I have a large tank so there will never be another purchase in OR. When I become so useless that I cannot pump fuel, it would be time to quit driving as well.

I live in NJ, the other state where you're not allowed to pump your own gas. I really don't understand people's fear of having to pump your own gas (my wife included). I've heard all the arguments posted here, including weather and providing jobs to teenagers.

As pointed out, the pumps are almost always covered. In my travels to other states, I've yet to be affected by the weather while pumping gas.

Providing jobs to teens is a joke. At least here in NJ, most of the gas pumper a are middle aged folks who don't even speak English. You wait for minutes and eventually they saunter out. They wait by the filler pipe and you have to practically exit the vehicle to give them your credit card.

There is a station I frequently use on my way to work that I pull in, pump my own and leave without even seeing an attendant. What good is the "no self serve" rule?

My question for those opposed to self serve is, just because YOU don't want to pump your own, why do you want to force those who want to pump their own to have to wait for an attendant?

There are a few full serve stations left in Taxachusetts. The price is usually withing a couple of cents of the market. My wife uses one mostly because she hates getting gas on her clothes, and the extra cost is usually more than covered by gas points from the grocery store.

I'm at a lose as to why this thread became so contentious. The fact that people from Oregon haven't had to pump their own gas for a while and are resisting change doesn't make them ignorant. The fact that the rest of the country (except NJ) has been pumping their own gas for years doesn't make them better. The economics don't lie. Someone has to pay for the attendant. Looking at the gas taxes in OR vs. other places, I'd say it's the Oregon tax payer, regardless of whether or not they drive or pump their own gas. When we pump our own gas, the states have more margin to bump up taxes. There are no winners.