Monthlong Valley gas war ends
Battle between Wawa, Hess had sent prices plummeting. Traffic safety named as reason.
By Kirk Beldon Jackson
Of The Morning Call
July 24, 2007
Wawa called a truce in the gasoline price war out of concern about traffic safety Monday, a day when cars spilled into the street for at least a block from its Union Boulevard and Airport Road store in Allentown and from the rival Hess station across the intersection.
The war raged out of control after Wawa and Hess dropped the price of regular gas to $1.94 a gallon, 98 cents less than the Pennsylvania average and $1.23 less than the highest price in the Lehigh Valley area. As of midnight, Wawa was to return to regular market pricing.
''Would you have your moms out here in this madness?'' Darrel Smith of Allentown said moments after he pumped gas into his mother's car at the Airport Road Wawa amid lines of drivers, many of whom had waited at least 15 minutes.
Smith, who recalled seeing a heated argument that almost came to blows at the station recently, said he was concerned about his mother's safety with belligerent people jockeying for the pumps.
But Juan Cueto of Allentown had no problem with the congestion.
''I want to keep the price like it is,'' Cueto said as he waited in line to buy gas at the Airport Road Hess station. ''It's better now. Before, it was too expensive.''
Wawa, based in Wawa, Delaware County, described the Lehigh Valley as ''ground zero for a gas price war'' in a prepared statement and
explained why the company wanted a cease-fire.
''We feel that we are doing the right thing,'' said Wawa spokeswoman Lori Bruce. ''At this point, because of concerns over safety and the congestion in and around the lots, we decided to bring the price war to an end.''
Bruce said the crowding was not only a safety problem, but an inconvenience for people buying food and beverages as well as gas. For convenience stores, selling gas is mainly a way to get customers the stores to buy food, drinks and other items that make up the bulk of their profits.
The gas price war began just over one month ago. Prices at Hess, Wawa and in some cases Sheetz have been consistently lower than competitors such as Exxon, Sunoco and Turkey Hill. The Sheetz at Schoenersville and City Line roads in Bethlehem offered $2.04 for regular on Monday. The national average was $2.96 a gallon.
But Bruce said the volume of gas customers had been much higher than company officials anticipated. She said the company will still offer the 5-cent discount for people who pay cash for gas. She wouldn't say how much the company has earned in the past few weeks.
No Hess officials could be reached late Monday at corporate headquarters in New York City.
Customers at Hess and Wawa stores marveled at how low the war had driven prices.
At the Wawa at Eighth Avenue and Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem, Glen Klein splurged to fill up his Lincoln Mark VII with premium gas at a cash price of $2.24 per gallon, 20 cents a gallon more than regular.
''It's almost 90 cents cheaper than everyone else,'' said Klein, of Lower Saucon Township. ''They've gotta be losing their shorts.''
Tina Fabrizio of Palmer Township paid about $2.69 for regular a few days ago. When she heard about Wawa's low prices, ''I was like, oh my God.''
She paid cash for $2.04 a gallon of regular to fill up her Jeep Liberty at Wawa's Eighth Avenue station.
Both she and Klein had heard about the lower prices at the Airport Road Wawa and Hess stations, but decided not to go there because of the congestion.
But Megan Fagan had no such inhibitions, driving 23 miles to the Airport Road Wawa from Germansville to fill up her minivan.
''I don't want anybody to get hurt,'' she said when asked about crowding at the service stations, ''but I don't see why it has to be over $3 at times to get gas.''
The 15-minute wait was worth it, she said. ''I saved about $20,'' she said.
As she waited in a line of cars, Barbara Hulsizer said she was glad Wawa is ''concerned about the public interest, because some people kind of get carried away.''
Still, Hulsizer, who lives in Easton and works in Allentown, questioned whether there is a global shortage of oil, saying the Wawa wouldn't sell gas for so little if there were.
Topic: Gas Price War in Allentown, PA (Read 1461 times)