NJ reacts to idea of pumping their own gas

Wawa is trying out self-checkout in New Jersey which I think is a great idea. Given the choice, I'd rather do it myself than have it done for me. It makes me feel more in control of the situation. But what about the people that will be put out of jobs?

With so much work available they will find new ones. Perhaps in between, they may even qualify for a $500 check from the Governor. That's how desperate we are to find workers in New Jersey.

As we all know, self-checkout is nothing new. Most of the big stores are doing it. I was recently in a Walmart on a Saturday night, (Do I know how to party or what? ;) and there were no cashiers but the self-checkout stations were packed.

New Jersey has no problem with stores going self-checkout unless, of course, it's the gas stations. For some unknown reason, New Jersey remains adamant about not letting us simply put a credit card into the pump and fill our own tanks like all the other states get to do.

Sal Risalvato is the executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline and Convenience Automotive Association. He tells me on New Jersey 101.5 that if we were able to pump our own gas, we could save up to 13 cents a gallon pumping it ourselves.

"At the pump, gas today, based on the cost of labor, would be about 15 cents (a gallon less)", Risalvato said on my show back in October. "And I say in some instances 20 cents a gallon less. So if you went to a self-serve pump, you'd be saving 15 or 20 cents a gallon", Risalvato stated.

Gas prices dropped 8 cents a gallon on Oct first but Risalvato says the reason we're not seeing what we expected is that it doesn't account for the gas that was bought before that date and also retailers raised their price six cents. So much for that.

I put up a Twitter poll and as you can see the results are close:

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.