How many gas stations are enough?

Seriously, we should be past the point of over saturation now. 

On a single 10 mile stretch of highway, by October, there will be 14 gas stations. In addition to 21 subway restaurants on the same stretch. That's not counting all the gas stations within 2 miles of the main highway as well.

WHY?!?!

What possible need for that many gas stations is there? At best, during the work week, there are roughly 40k people in the area, a number that's been declining the last several years as jobs leave town with residents following them. 

I would accept if they were replacing old ones, but all the old ones have been updated within the past 2 years. New buildings, New pumps, essentially all becoming convenience stores with inconvenient hours. 

Couldn't we fix the collapsing bridges or the minefield that is the highway instead? Aren't cars getting more efficient? Or did the people who grew up hearing "it'll pass everything but a gas station" decide to let their old cars start passing gas stations by clustering them together? Do all the little neighborhoods and housing plans need their own gas stations now?

I'll grant diesel is still annoying to purchase around here, but we still don't need to double the number of gas stations when one or two more diesel pumps would suffice. 

End rant.

Interesting rant... around here, more are closing than new ones opening. 

I'm okay with more gas stations.  The Wawa near me is always too crowded to buy gas, so I go elsewhere.  The thing that's really crazy is the number of drugstores.  I swear there's one on every intersection.

I'm a Kwik Trip fan. I'll pass other gas stations if I know there's a Kwik Trip coming up.

If you wait long enough, they wll tear the gas stations down and put in drug stores. 

edited for spellers

They're competing with each other (both the gas stations of different chains and the Subways which are independently owned franchises), there is enough demand in that area to sustain multiple gas stations and Subways, and the free market has no concept of "enough" except for worker pay since the '70s, apparently. Next question?

As electric cars become more popular and everyone leaves home with a "full tank," there will be a lot of deserted, closed-down gas stations though. EV chargers don't need the room that gas pumps and underground tanks do, they can be stuck to the outside of any structure.

I expect a future "gas station" will be more like a small plaza with one gas & diesel pump off to the side for older vehicles.

I don't know if there's that much demand for fuels, but there's probably that much demand for smokes, lotto tickets and Mountain Dew.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

When they're owned by the same people who are they competing against?

1988RedT2 said:

The thing that's really crazy is the number of drugstores.  I swear there's one on every intersection.

^^^THIS.  Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens are currently fighting the same demographics war that Home Depot and Lowes did 10 years ago.  They will build a new store 3 miles away from an existing store of the same brand if it means they can be 1 mile closer to a population center than their competition is.

STM317 said:

I don't know if there's that much demand for fuels, but there's probably that much demand for smokes, lotto tickets and Mountain Dew.

Bingo.  You open a gas station so that people will come in and buy the crap at your mini-mart that actually have a margin that works for the business owner.

bluej said:

STM317 said:

I don't know if there's that much demand for fuels, but there's probably that much demand for smokes, lotto tickets and Mountain Dew.

Bingo.  You open a gas station so that people will come in and buy the crap at your mini-mart that actually have a margin that works for the business owner.

This would make sense, but currently, there are 2 places available to buy anything after 10pm, on the highway. In town, there's one.

When everywhere renovated, they cut overnight hours out. 

I guess I just need to accept this is South western pennsyltucky, nothing will ever make sense. 

Ours are frequently crowded at the pumps. I'm fine with more stations. Keep building them. 

In reply to Duke :

Yea I'm always blown away by the number of pharmacy's. They are slowly adding more and more grocery items as well

I'd say enough gas stations would be when they are almost never completely full, but rarely completely empty. I think (although they take up a lot less space) they will be far more electric car charging stations required if most people drove them, just due to the fact people will have to spend longer thete.

I'm going to venture a guess this is Route 30?

Ian F said:

Interesting rant... around here, more are closing than new ones opening. 

That's my observation as well, particularly in the inner city where I live.  It's interesting how many gas stations used to be around here, there are many street intersections where there used to be two or three or even four gas stations at one time.  Today they're either gone altogether or the buildings have been converted into some other kind of business.  There was a place a few blocks from me that had been a dry cleaners for many years but was converted into a Subway sandwich store.  When the building was renovated they stripped off the exterior sheathing, revealing block walls with the original Standard gas station signs painted on it, and then a few weeks later it was all covered up again with new sheathing.

Years ago a successful business owner posed me this question: If you have money to open a business in a small town that has one grocery store and 3 gas stations, which of the two do you open?

I answered, a grocery store.

Wrong, he says. A gas station. If a town can support 3 gas stations, it probably has enough business to support 4, but if there's only one grocery, that's probably all it will keep afloat.

And that's why I'll never be rich.

Tk8398 said:

I think (although they take up a lot less space) they will be far more electric car charging stations required if most people drove them, just due to the fact people will have to spend longer thete.

Indeed, you'll probably have an EV charger for every parking space in the "gas station" of the future.

There may be a few electric cars about, but I see a lot more pickups, Yukons and Escalades and they are thirsty.

"April 24, 2018 - The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest data registers consumer gasoline demand at 9.857 million b/d. That is the highest level ever on record for the month of April and exceeds typical summer demand measurements. As demand skyrockets, gas prices increased across the country on the week with five states seeing double-digit jumps. The national average ticked up a nickel to $2.76.

http://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/autos/13646-aaa-reports-gasoline-demand-at-record-highs-for-april-as-pump-prices-continue-to-rise-california-at-3-58

I was just trying to figure out the reason why gas prices jumped 50 cents a gallon from this time last month. 

MazdaFace said:

In reply to Duke :

Yea I'm always blown away by the number of pharmacy's. They are slowly adding more and more grocery items as well

It seems Walgreen's model is similar to Burger King's.  Walgreens will build across the intersection from a CVS, just like Burger King used to build across the road from McD's.  Come to think of it, Sam Walton may have come up with that concept, because he would build a new Walmart store near a Ben Franklin Store.         

Dusterbd13 said:

I was just trying to figure out the reason why gas prices jumped 50 cents a gallon from this time last month. 

Because people are starting to travel for vacation.  And because they can.    

Really pointless with the number of gas stations everywhere “supposedly” competing for business with the best couple cents lest price when Costco has it for .20 cents or more cheaper. I just go to Costco. 

I had the same thought as OP recently, here in East TN. How many gas stations can a planet rapidly being depleted of fossil fuels realistically sustain? 

I guess a few more.

This was not intended as patio fodder, and I will gladly take it down if anyone is offended.

Looking at the above diagram, maybe fracking only gets us natural gas.

I am so confused and afraid.

Furious_E said:

I'm going to venture a guess this is Route 30?

Probably, just not sure if he is talking about Greensburg or Irwin.