New Jersey drivers may have to learn to pump their own gas - POLITICO
An attendant fills gas canisters as people wait in line at a Shell gas station in Matawan, N.J. | Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
03/05/2022 07:00 AM EST
New Jerseyans, used to being overshadowed by New York and Philadelphia, hold sacred the things that make the state unique.
There’s the processed pork product known as Taylor Ham (or, if you’re in South Jersey, it’s called “pork roll”). The jughandle, that strange off-ramp designed to make sure no one makes the brazen move of trying to turn left. And then there’s the thing outsiders are most likely to immediately notice: Full-service gas.
For 73 years, drivers in New Jersey have been barred from pumping their own gas. It’s the only state in the nation that doesn’t allow it at all. Now, after an aborted attempt in 2015, the state’s gas station industry is again pushing to repeal that law, endangering the state’s unofficial motto: “Jersey girls don’t pump their own gas.”
The proposal, announced via press release Monday by a new industry-backed group called Fuel Your Way NJ and sponsored by a bipartisan trio of state Assembly members, immediately caused a stir across the state.
But last time it was tried, it didn’t go well.
Under the new bill, New Jerseyans would be allowed to pump their own gas, but stations with more than four pumps would be required to have a full-service option, presumably at a higher price. Those pushing the change say a national workforce shortage has made it more difficult to hire...
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