Gasoline thefts spur Dawson station manager to take action

Photo by Dan Davidson

DAWSON CITY - Folks fuelling up their vehicles at Dominion Shell in downtown Dawson are looking at another new reality of the high price of gasoline.

Faced with a rash of “gas and go”  customers over the last month, manager Boyd Gillis has been forced to implement a new payment regime.

The sign on the pump says, “No fuel will be dispensed until you leave a credit card or driver’s licence with the attendant. Thank you.“

The sign went up last week.

“There are too many people driving away and not paying,“ Gillis said on Monday.

“One load alone recently was $200, It’s pretty significant if we keep allowing this.“

Gillis said some of the problem is home-grown.

“We’re pretty sure that some of them are locals who have gone and done it, but we haven’t been able to prove it, so finally, this last go-round, I just said that was it.“

Gillis pointed to British Columbia, where paying in advance has become the standard policy. That followed the dragging death of a young service station attendant pursuing a vehicle whose driver was pulling away without having paid for his gas.

“Most of the out-of-town travellers accept it,“ Gillis said. “It’s automatic.

“It’s just the locals that seem to be taken aback by it. They’ll get used to it. It’s a lttle bit of an inconvenience, but I just can’t afford to have people fill up and drive away.“

Gillis would like to have the sort of pumps that require a customer to insert a credit card before gassing up, but he hasn’t had any response to his requests to North 60 Petroleum, which owns the station.

“I decided that rather than wait around, I’d do this,“ Gillis said.