Using pay-at-the-pump in Los Angeles in the 1980s


Time-travel with me back to the 1980s, when being able to pay right there at the pump, instead of having to deal with a person, was brand new. I was in Los Angeles when this happened, and it was wonderful. And the reason for this is because I was born a little too late. I started to drive in the 1970s, when everything just started to go wrong.

If you're older than I am, you may remember how wonderful service stations were in the 1950s, even into the 1960s. Gas was very cheap, and all you had to do was pull up to the pumps and a smartly-dressed attendant would not only pump your gas, but also check your oil, and your tires. My parents remember those times, and I can see it on old movies, but I never saw it myself when I was driving.

The price of gas started going up sharply in the early 1970s, right before I got my driver's license. Of course to our 21st Century eyes the prices look cheap, but they really weren't, gas had almost doubled in price almost overnight. That would be the equivalent of suddenly paying eight dollars a gallon instead of four. And so people suddenly became aware of trying to save money on gas.

And so almost immediately those wonderful service station attendants were replaced by some of my high school friends who could stand there and pump gas, but that was about it. There were little cords on the ground by the gas pumps that would go "ding" when you drove over them, and instead of great service attendants rushing out, you just had to sit there and wait. And then people started pumping their own gas, which was fine, but it required a fair amount of dealing with my old high school friends who were doing the best they could to make change, or operate a credit card transaction, which wasn't very good.

Now calm there if you think that I'm implying that I would have done better - no way. I was never good at math! And for me, even the most efficient people working at gas stations, which were very crowded, even back in the 1980s in Los Angeles, was annoying. If only there were a way to pay for the gas with no human interaction, like an ATM machine! And then it really happened, and I would take the Mustang to a pay-at-the-pump place and be in and out like a pitstop. It was absolutely glorious!

So there ya go, the 1980s began an era of self-service, including Macintosh computers, and it was a wonderful time for someone like me.

Ding - ding, beep - beep!

Thank you for the encouragement! If you want to see daily pics of my adventures on my recumbent trike in suburban Phoenix (just for fun, of course!) you can follow me on buymeacoffee.com/bradhall, and you can buy me a coffee if you'd like to!

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