There has been a lot of talk this week with regards to fuel stations closing down at night because of many of them are struggling to stay in business in the current economic conditions. There is also an element of added risk in operating a fuel station at night as there are more likely to be crimes at the fuel station at night than during the day. The idea of closing fuels stations at night has been met with mixed reactions from various stakeholders. For one; there is a proposal that if fuel stations want to remain open at night they would have to charge a 15% levy to consumers who decided to fill up their tanks during the night.

Some fuels station owners want to close down at night as they think it would save them a lot of expenses but the main stumbling block in this is that most service stations have contracts with the larger oil companies and these contracts state that the service station has to open 24 hours a day. Breaking out of these contracts could be a long and messy process.

On the other hand there are service station owners who actually get between 15 - 20% of their business in the night, mainly through their restaurants and shops at the service station. These owners would not be too keen to close down at night. Shops at service stations have become very convenient for many consumers today who know that they can drive up to a service station and buy essentials in the case of an emergency.

The idea of paying an additional 15% levy on the price of fuel sold at night will not be met well by many consumers. With the ever rising price of petrol, an additional 15% will just make fuel unfordable to many. This 15% idea should just be scrapped and not taken seriously for the sake of the economy.

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