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Despite
ADA, Full Service Gas Hard to Find
Sunday, July
02, 2006
By ELIZABETH CARR
Staff Writer
Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Linda and Phil Bunnell get their gasoline at a full-service gas pump
from Marc McElroy, at J&S Oil in Augusta. The couple are both disabled
and need the help filling up
For Linda Bunnell, filling her silver Caravan's gas tank is more than
just an errand -- it's a chore.
And not just because of high prices.
For Bunnell, who uses a cane and occasionally uses a walker, just
getting in the car to fill her tank is difficult.
"Climbing in and out of the car is my number one effort," said Bunnell,
of Augusta. "Once I'm in the car, I'm fine."
Inevitably, she has to get out of the car to pump her own gas. But with
an extra-wide walker that doesn't fit between her car and the gas pump,
and arthritis in her hands, pumping her own gas is often out of the
question.
"I have to avoid self-service stations," Bunnell said. "Because I just
can't hit the buttons or squeeze the handle hard enough all the time."
With the number of full-service stations in Maine dwindling, Bunnell
isn't the only person driving with her gas tank hovering just above 'E.'
According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, there are
1,080 convenience stores in Maine, 827 of which sell gas. While there
are no figures available for exactly how many of the stations are
full-service, local residents with physical challenges say there aren't
enough.
Bunnell said there's only one full-service station left in Augusta where
she can fill up: J&S Oil on Mount Vernon Avenue.
A full-service Exxon station used to exist on Bangor Street, but it
recently closed, she said.
With only one option available to her, Bunnell has to plan her trips
carefully.
"What I do is fill my tank once every two weeks at a full-service
station and make sure I have enough gas before I go anyplace," Bunnell
said.
Augusta resident Nancy Morse does the same.
"I just make sure that my tank doesn't get too low so that I don't have
to fill up," she said.
Also an arthritis sufferer, Morse said that if the weather's not too
cold or damp, she can usually manage to use the nozzle to pump her own
gas.
"But if I stand out there in cold or damp weather pumping gas, I am
going to be hurting for the rest of the day," Morse said.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, both women shouldn't
have to fill up at full-service stations. The law requires gas stations
to provide equal access for their customers with disabilities.
If necessary to provide access, the law says stations must:
- Provide fueling assistance upon the request of an individual with a
disability. However, a service station is not required to provide such
service anytime it is operating on a remote-control basis with a single
employee.
- Let patrons know -- via appropriate signage -- that customers with
disabilities can obtain fueling assistance by honking or otherwise
signaling an employee.
- Provide the fueling assistance without any charge beyond the
self-service price.
But the law obligating stations to assist with fueling is seldom
enforced locally, and many customers and station attendants don't know
about the ADA law, said Kathy Gips, director of training at the New
England ADA Center in Boston.
"In Massachusetts, the state agency that oversees the gas stations sent
them all notices," Gips said. "But the state agency is not necessarily
required to do that. The law is enforced by the (U.S.) Department of
Justice, or by somebody going to court."
Even those who know the ADA law, such as Anson resident Pat Lynds, still
try to only fill up at full-service stations because she knows she can
get help there.
Lynds, who uses a walker, usually gasses up at a full-service station in
Skowhegan.
"I'm there often, so it's not out of my way," Lynds said. "But I was in
Augusta recently and noticed just as I got to the parking lot that my
gas was low and I wasn't sure I could get home with it.
"I drove into one self-service place where a man was pumping his gas and
I asked if when he went in if he could ask for someone to come out and
help me pump my gas and a very nice young woman came out and said she'd
pump it for me," she said.
But people can't always rely on the kindness of strangers, Gips said.
That's why she recommends people establish a relationship with one
service station where they feel comfortable refueling.
At Laney's Pit Stop in Skowhegan, that's exactly how one elderly woman
received the help she needed.
"We had one woman who was a regular, who when we saw her drive up to the
pump, we just went out and helped her," said Sharon Laney. "We'd see her
and just go to help her."
That's also the case at several Dead River Company service stations.
"We have several customers who we've established relationships with who
are recognized by the attendants as people who need help," said Alan
Dorr, general manager of the Convenience Store Division for Dead River
Company.
Employees are also trained to simply help anyone who may need
assistance, Door said.
"If anyone comes into a station and needs help pumping gas, we go out
and help them. We don't particularly train them on the ADA law because
it's just our policy to give people assistance, elderly or otherwise,"
he said.
Elizabeth Carr-- 623-3811, Ext. 433
ecarr@centralmaine.com
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