Drivers flock to gas stations as provisional tax rate expires
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008With the expiry of the provisional gasoline tax rate at midnight Monday, people flocked to gas stations to buy cheaper gasoline across the country Tuesday.
In Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, which is known for its high concentration of gas stations, Ichigo-hausu SS reduced its price of a liter of gasoline by 20 yen–1 yen more than it had originally planned–after the station’s manager checked the prices of other gas stations in the neighborhood.
After the gas station opened at 7 a.m., the manager said, “We’ve had about three times more customers than we do on ordinary weekdays.”
A 42-year-old woman who went there to fill up her car said: “I held off putting gas in our family’s car until today. [The discount] really helps out our family budget.”
Yoshida Shoji’s Kodaira SS in Kodaira, Tokyo, also reduced its gasoline price by 22 yen to 126 yen per liter. Immediately after a sign advertising the discounted price was put up, all six pumps were occupied. Several cars waited to refuel on the road in front of the gas station.
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