SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco board of supervisors is considering a divorcement proposal banning major oil companies from owning gas stations in the city. The board contends it would help increase competition and drive down gasoline prices, reported KGO-TV.
The proposal is facing resistance, said the report. Anita Mangels, a spokesperson Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), told the news outlet, You can't just snap your fingers and expect that independent business people will come in and open up new businesses. And even if they do, there's [image-nocss] no guarantee that they will charge lower prices.
The divorcement idea failed to pass the board of supervisors nine years ago, said the report, but supervisor Tom Ammiano said times have changed,and he thinks it will pass this time. It's time that we stand up and say look, we're going to have to pay, let's have some fair prices', he said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of drivers swarmed a small gas station in San Francisco last week to take advantage of a one-of-a-kind deal: gasoline for $2.98 a gallon, said The Examiner.
It was part of Bob Oyster's crusade against Shell and other large oil companies that he claimed are running smaller franchise operators out of business by raising rents and by forcing them to pay high prices for gasoline.
Oyster, who ran the station for 22 years, slashed gasoline prices Thursday to $2.98 a gallon for regular and $2.99 a gallon for premium before shutting the station down and turning it over to Shell.
The station made headlines recently when Oyster raised his prices to $4.43 a gallon, knowing drivers would fuel up elsewhere.
Shell had planned to raise Oyster's rent from $6,000 to $8,154 a month, according to a statement from Shell cited by the newspaper.
We worked with him in good faith in hopes of renewing his contract, Shell spokesperson Sarah Andreani told the paper. The price he has set reflects poorly on the thousands of Shell operators who try to price their products competitively.
On Thursday, drivers jammed the tiny station parking lot, blocked traffic and waited up to two hours for a turn at the pump. Some drivers cut others off, honked horns in frustration, and one driver tapped another vehicle's bumper in the frenzy, according to the report.
Cashier Si Wong, who has worked at the station for seven months, taped a makeshift sign that read All Out on the booth window around 1 p.m. The station had about 4,000 gallons of regular gasoline left, but Wong said the network jammed and he turned anxious customers away.
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