Australian city drivers can now fill-up using petrol stations that don’t have a single staff member at them – and while convenient, it might not end up saving drivers any more money.
The U-Go Petrol Stations are being rolled out across the country by AMPOL, one of Australia’s biggest fuel retailers, and mean you can drive straight in, tap you card, and fill up your tank before getting back on the road.
As several AMPOL sites go full self-serve, kiosks are being boarded up, with seven self-serve sites in NSW, five in Queensland, four in South Australia, and three in Victoria.
More electric vehicles on the road and fewer staff willing to work in petrol stations are forcing AMPOL to re-think its operations.
“We are encountering significant challenges in terms of manning our service stations around the clock,” Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association chief executive Mark McKenzie said.
Retail and Fast Food Workers Union secretary Josh Cullinan said the staffing issue was fuelled by minimum wages and “very poor” working conditions.
But even with wages out of the equation, drivers shouldn’t expect big savings at the pump.
The price of unleaded petrol at a self-serve station in Dunnegong, Victoria is identical to at a BP just 500 metres away.
Instead, the money saved is being injected into technology to monitor drivers.
But without a physical supervisor on-site, some drivers fear for their safety.
“None of that is available in these sites where there isn’t staff on hand, trained and able to act quickly,” said Cullinan.
“We have to make sure we can operate what is in effect a dangerous goods site with monitoring and remote shut down if something occurs,” added McKenzie.
