Nowhere to stop for gas for three months

Pa¯ tea residents face a long drive to get fuel when the town’s only petrol station shuts for around three months for much-needed upgrades.

Manager Jay Knight, who has been running the station with partner Michelle Bishop for 12 years, said it was a case of either getting the upgrades done or close the station for good.

‘‘The tanks which hold the fuel have reached the end of their 25-year life cycle and need replacing,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s going to be an inconvenience as the station’s a vital part of this community.’’

Knight said one of the changes was that the old metal tanks would be replaced with larger fibreglass tanks.

‘‘We’re going to move away from BP too and have decided to go with Mobil,’’ he said.

The petrol station is due to close for the upgrades on February 19 but Knight said it was possible that they’d run out of fuel before then.

Knight was advising customers to fill up now rather than leave it until the last minute.

Patea resident Jenny Kerslake is out and about in the community and among the many things she does is relief driving for the elderly, travelling all around the region.

This means she is able to get fuel at other towns.

‘‘It won’t be too bad for us, but it will be for others,’’ she said. ‘‘Three months is a long time, I guess we’ll just have to suck it up.

‘‘It’ll be a pain in the bum having to swap all the BP cards over to Mobil and change over.’’

Despite the closures there was some silver lining and Knight said customers had a lot to look forward to when they did re-open.

‘‘The new station will have a new canopy, pay at the pump, 24-hour access and we’ll also accept Mobil gift cards and Smiles,’’ he said.

‘‘It’ll also mean better fuel prices for our customers as we’ll be competitive with Ha¯wera’s prices.’’

‘‘It’ll be a better customer experience and will be a nice fresh new look.’’

The new store means the couple will have also to brush up on their latte, espresso and cappuccino making skills.

‘‘We’ll be offering barista coffee as well,’’ he said.

While the petrol station is undergoing significant changes, none of which will affect staff numbers, Knight hoped the adjacent laundromat wouldn’t be affected too much.

‘‘We’ll try to keep it open but it could be a mission.’’