98 cents a gallon?! Are they serious? (fuel bank)
#1
Speaks French in Russian
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98 cents a gallon?! Are they serious? (fuel bank)
98 cents a gallon?! Are they serious?
Yup, if you're a lucky member of a Minnesota gas cooperative
By Kevin Tibbles
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:44 p.m. ET May 3, 2006
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - St. Cloud is a 60-mile, maybe two-gallon drive from the Twin Cities. Never heard of it?
Well, listen up: In a nation of $3 gas, St. Cloudian Larry Behrendt fills up his van for ...
"I'm paying 98 cents a gallon for my gas right now," he says.
That's under a buck!
Now we've got your attention, here's why it's so cheap. St. Cloud is home to the nation's first fuel bank.
"We have a lot of the aspects of a money bank," says First Fuel Banks' Jim Feneis. "People are making a cash deposit, but they will withdraw gas."
Customers buy gas in bulk, up front, then use a simple card each time they fill up from their reserve. The price remains fixed to the day they bought the gas.
Contractor John McDowall runs a fleet of 70 vehicles.
"Savings for us is like $150 a day for our fuel savings, which equates to about $4,500 a month," he says. When the fuel bank opened back in 1982, the price of a gallon of gas was $1.10. Today, AAA says the national average sits at $2.92.
The mayor fills up here. So do city vehicles. It adds up to big savings for St. Cloud.
"So far it's going to amount to $50,000," says city employee Chuck Koetter. "We currently still have 300 members that are fueling sub-$1 and literally thousands of members fueling sub-$2 per gallon," says Jim Feneis.
As gas prices skyrocket, Larry Behrendt is all of a sudden a popular guy.
"There are all kinds of people that want to borrow my card, that's for sure," he laughs.
In St. Cloud, thanks to the gas bank, they're laughing all the way to the bank.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12615091/
Yup, if you're a lucky member of a Minnesota gas cooperative
By Kevin Tibbles
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:44 p.m. ET May 3, 2006
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - St. Cloud is a 60-mile, maybe two-gallon drive from the Twin Cities. Never heard of it?
Well, listen up: In a nation of $3 gas, St. Cloudian Larry Behrendt fills up his van for ...
"I'm paying 98 cents a gallon for my gas right now," he says.
That's under a buck!
Now we've got your attention, here's why it's so cheap. St. Cloud is home to the nation's first fuel bank.
"We have a lot of the aspects of a money bank," says First Fuel Banks' Jim Feneis. "People are making a cash deposit, but they will withdraw gas."
Customers buy gas in bulk, up front, then use a simple card each time they fill up from their reserve. The price remains fixed to the day they bought the gas.
Contractor John McDowall runs a fleet of 70 vehicles.
"Savings for us is like $150 a day for our fuel savings, which equates to about $4,500 a month," he says. When the fuel bank opened back in 1982, the price of a gallon of gas was $1.10. Today, AAA says the national average sits at $2.92.
The mayor fills up here. So do city vehicles. It adds up to big savings for St. Cloud.
"So far it's going to amount to $50,000," says city employee Chuck Koetter. "We currently still have 300 members that are fueling sub-$1 and literally thousands of members fueling sub-$2 per gallon," says Jim Feneis.
As gas prices skyrocket, Larry Behrendt is all of a sudden a popular guy.
"There are all kinds of people that want to borrow my card, that's for sure," he laughs.
In St. Cloud, thanks to the gas bank, they're laughing all the way to the bank.
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#9
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Originally Posted by exvelocity
I still dont understand how the bank can sell gas for under a dollar per gallon, cliff notes?
#10
exclusive matchup
iTrader: (4)
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
They bought it in bulk (like a gas distributor) when prices were much lower.
#11
Lexus Champion
Originally Posted by rominl
come to think about it, does that mean the gas you pump now is like 4 or 5 yr old? that's basically what they are implying if they say they bought the gas when prices were much lower
i remember seeing this on the news a while back... VERY cool idea.
#15
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Originally Posted by exvelocity
still don't explain why 98cents,I remember back in 89 that was the price for gallon of gas
SouthWest airlines has a long term contract for oil at $26 a barrel which is why they're still making money hand over fist.