B.C. cities mixed about revamping ban on self-service gas stations
VANCOUVER — Councillors in two Vancouver-area cities that have long banned self-service gas stations have mixed views on whether the time has come to allow residents to top up their own tanks.
Richmond has barred do-it-yourself fill ups since 1966 while Coquitlam has had a similar policy in place since 1959, despite repeated efforts by industry to roll back the restrictions.
Richmond’s mayor, Malcolm Brodie, said he is not aware of any recent interest in changing the city’s long-standing practice requiring stations to employ attendants to pump gas.
The price of full-service gas, which is traditionally higher, renewed the debate when Richmond last considered the issue more than a dozen years ago, but it turned out customers were paying the same as they would at self-service facilities outside the city, Brodie said.