Pump closure upsets drivers

JONATHAN DOW
Valued customer Vera Smith offered to lie on the forecourt at Otane's service station to stop BP removing the pumps but it wouldn't make any difference.
The pumps are going tomorrow and the tanks will be pulled out of the ground next week. And owner/operators Murray and Jenny Sturm can't put into words how they feel.
BP will not renew their contract to supply fuel so, like 110 mainly rural petrol stations around the country last year, the petrol station at Otane is to close.
Otane people are not happy, Mrs Smith said, especially as $2 million was to be spent on the BP at Waipawa next year.
The Sturms have known for a couple of years that it could come to this, but it doesn't make the past few days any easier.
"We thought if we could get the place pumping it would make a difference. But it doesn't," Mr Sturm said.
They got the final word from BP six months ago: "We have very much valued your business and efforts to promote our brand. However, you operate in a competitive industry that can force difficult decisions to be made in order to ensure the future survival of businesses," the letter read.
BP has made a decision to focus on its larger sites, spokesman Andrew Hill said.
The Sturms could have signed a deal with Gasoline Alley Services (g.a.s), but Mr Sturm said this wasn't feasible.
"We're not 20 years old and the cost of going to another supplier is huge," Mr Sturm said. "We've explored all the other options."
Locals have been dropping in to fill up and have one last chat.
Lee Smith, who owns the Otane General Store, said, "Any rural business being closed down, through no fault of their own, by big brother, is really bad news."
Waipawa is six kilometres down the road, and now that locals have to go there for fuel Mr Smith is worried they may also get their bread and milk there at the same time. Motor Trade Association spokesman Andy Cuming said while gas was a lifeline for some small operators, the small guys didn't seem to get much of a chance.
"This type of trend doesn't do the motorist much good. We rely on these small service stations," he said.
Mr Sturm will reopen his one-man mechanic's workshop that is part of the station as soon as he can.
But removing the tanks will leave his forecourt unstable and he doesn't know when he will be able to do this. "What can we do?"