Proponents of the ban cite safety and jobs as reasons to keep the ban. Thanks to relatively low state taxes, even with full service, gas in NJ is cheaper than gas in neighboring PA and NY. The rationale for this is the competitive advantage that NJ gets with increased business from commuters to and from NY and PA as well as folks just driving through to CT and other states.

Likewise, an Oregon statute banning self-service gasoline lists seventeen different justifications, including the inflammability of gas, the risk of crime from customers leaving their cars, the toxic fumes emitted by gasoline, and the jobs created by requiring mini service. In 1982, Oregon voters rejected a ballot measure sponsored by the service station owners, which would have legalized self-service gas.

NJ Gas stations have in recent years offered significant savings to cash paying customers. Many gas station owners who upgrade their pumps purchase machines that have the ability to track cash and credit card purchases independently. A recent Star Ledger article apeared to show a distinct bias for credit card users when it cited a customer who moved his business elsewhere because a gas station provided a so called excessive discount to cash paying customers. The same article on January 10, 2010 by Danny Teigman quotes David Weinstein, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association clubs of New Jersey as saying "I think it’s here to stay unless it’s outlawed." Who in his right mind would want to outlaw discounts for cash paying customers.

This writer cannot help wondering at the manner in which large credit card issuers can corrupt the thinking of the media. As for AAA, it is supposed to have the interests of the motoring public at heart!

It is a fact of life that Gas stations have to pay as much as 3% in credit card fees. On $40.00 worth of gas that works out to $1.20. At $3.00 per gallon thats ten cents per gallon. Typically the savings gas stations offer for cash sales are higher than that because there are often other bank fees and payment delays that also eat into dealers margins.

One NJ firm that has pioneered savings for gas buyers since 1977 is Piscataway based Raceway. The Piscataway based company was one of the early adopters of a two tiered pricing strategy for gas. The company operates 26 gas stations (mostly in the Central Jersey area), also provides ATM machines for customers who need to withdraw cash.

Paying cash for gas has other benefits in addition to the savings. It encourages a cash paying culture which will exert downward pressure on prices overall. It makes smaller local businesses more competitive. Privacy advocates extoll the virtues of cash payments because corporations already know too much about our purchasing decisions.

One relatively unsung benefit is that cash payments require gas stations to take better care of their employees because a greater level of trust is needed to handle cash!

All told, this is one new year resolution worth keeping. Pay cash to save cash.