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3,184 of the nation's 164,292 gasoline stations closed their doors last year - down from 200,000 a dozen years ago. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25214948/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Gas_Station.jpgDavid Welch - Business Week - June 17, 2008

Gas stations also feel the pain -- Ed.

Don't be surprised to see more filling stations with empty pumps. But don't panic either. There isn't a gasoline shortage like there was in the 1970s.

What's happening is that filling stations have had their margins squeezed. Credit-card companies charge by the dollar, pushing up costs per gallon that filling stations pay to work with banks. And forget about sneaking in a few pennies' worth of profit. Consumers are bargain-shopping like never before. The upshot: Some filling stations either can't stay in business or are just barely hanging on… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25214948/

Funny how this article just came out because yesterday morning they were reporting on the radio about a few gas stations in West Virginia that were no longer taking credit cards because of the service fees. The comment from the news reader was they expected it to be the start of a trend across the country.
I would love to get rid of my credit card machine at work. That piece of plastic costs me almost $2,500 a year.
One of my employees mother is a manager of a small BP along I-79 and she told me last year that they pay over $30,000 a month in credit card fees. They have almost nothing in retail space. I'd guess at maybe 20X15 feet of retail area.

I pay cash as much as I can because I know how much it costs a retailer to process a card.

NJ is doing 2 tiered pricing, or not taking CC's at all. The place on the corner stopped taking credit cards and they are priced $3.89 as of right now. Down the road, same thing accept they accept CC for about .15 more / gallon

NJ is doing 2 tiered pricing, or not taking CC's at all. The place on the corner stopped taking credit cards and they are priced $3.89 as of right now. Down the road, same thing accept they accept CC for about .15 more / gallonThat's the way it was in the mid to late 80's in Dallas.

If gas stations stop taking credit cards, you wonder if that will force more people to realize they are paying a lot of money - can I make this next tank last longer?

If the filling stations offered a way to only have to walk into the station once to pay with cash or had pay cash at the pump technology I would do so. Until that happens why would I pay cash, which takes longer, not get a cc reward, while paying for someone else's cc reward?

If an average station is spending $30,000/month in fees, surely they could come up with technology to speed up cash transactions and offer incentives to use it.

NJ is doing 2 tiered pricing, or not taking CC's at all. The place on the corner stopped taking credit cards and they are priced $3.89 as of right now. Down the road, same thing accept they accept CC for about .15 more / gallon

I live in NJ too, and have to commute 60 miles each way. That gives me lots of options as to where I buy gas. Some stations have gone to 2-tier pricing, but I've found that typically their "cash" price is the same as what other stations are charging for credit. Show me some REAL savings and I'll pay cash. Although, given what it costs to fill a tank these days, I'm not crazy about carrying around THAT much cash...

Most of the stations offering the 2 tier pricing will give you the cash price if you use THEIR credit card. I've seen this at a number of stations. But I don't want to go back to carrying 14 credit cards in my wallet!

BTW - my last fill up 2 days ago was at a Gulf - $3.91, on my discover card. Which means I'll get a small portion of that back as a cashback bonus. That's cheaper that what most of the country is paying right now, but it still hurts...