The number of gas stations is dwindling in Rivière-du-Loup. While Fraser Street had three suppliers about three years ago, it now has only one. A decline that can be explained by the low profit made on the litre, but also by the aging of the equipment, credit card fees and the advent of electric vehicles.
The owner of Station-service Daniel Dubé inc., Serge Sénéchal, recently decided to hang up the nozzles on the pumps for good, even though he had more than a year left on his contract with Sonic. His underground tanks are at the end of their life, according to the inspections carried out by the Régie du bâtiment in the spring.
Mr. Sénéchal, also the owner of Automobiles Trans-bec Inc., explains that before the pandemic, it was the Ministry of the Environment that checked gas tanks every year. The Régie, for its part, checks every two years. “My tanks, for two years, they didn’t want to authorize it. If it had been like the old way, they would have been good for another year,” he believes.
And the tanks have to be changed at his expense, since they belong to him. This investment amounts to at least $300,000. “We don’t put [d’essence] because the profitability of that, currently, is not good at all,” confides the businessman.
Mr. Sénéchal pocketed only five cents per litre. So, for 100 litres of gasoline sold, he earned $5 in profit, from which a 2.25% credit card fee had to be deducted. Since the payment terminal belonged to Sonic, the garage had to pay between 30 and 40 cents for each transaction. To get his $5, the owner paid $4.75 in fees. “And I paid someone to go to the pumps. So it’s not a hard decision to make,” he concedes.
Providing service at the pump was also a problem for the garage’s mechanics since they had to stop their work to fill cars with gas. “When I knew I was going to have big gas rushes, I couldn’t take jobs that stretched,” explains manager Éric Dubé. Now, it will be easier for employees to repair cars, without having to stop halfway.
Over the next two years, Serge Sénéchal will still have to do some work to remove his tanks in order to comply with the law. He estimates the cost between $50,000 and $100,000. In the coming weeks, Sonic will come and pick up his pumps and sign.
The businessman is not sad to move on. If Sonic had been responsible for changing the tanks, he does not know if he would have continued to sell gasoline.
ULTRAMAR
Only the Ultramar is still in service on Fraser Street in Rivière-du-Loup, after the Denis Pelletier garage stopped selling gasoline in 2021. Station-service Daniel Dubé inc. did the same thing this month.
The owner, Alain Dumont, did not have the same problem as his colleagues 10 years ago. His tanks were changed in 2014 by the subsidiary, and are guaranteed for 50 years.
“Whoever owns the reservoirs, when they are finished, he stops because he cannot get his money back,” he says.
According to him, only big companies are able to invest in changing the tanks, because “they have money left on gasoline, not much else.” An owner who would change them himself “it’s not worth it, there’s not enough money left. It doesn’t even pay the interest if you borrow. That’s why they’re all closing, only the big companies will remain,” he thinks.
The arrival of electric vehicles is also a game changer, says Mr. Dumont. “Small gas stations like ours, within 20 years there won’t be any left, they’ll all close,” he predicts.
He also doesn’t hide his labor problems to keep his business running. “I’m one employee away from closing,” shares the owner of Ultramar for 37 years. Otherwise, “it’s going to be me who’s going to give up, when I’m going to give up,” he says.
Alain Dumont would perhaps like to pass on his business to his son and his cousin’s son, if they are interested. However, he does not believe it is worth it since the industry is currently turning to electrification.
He finds the situation of the gas stations unfortunate, but he is not surprised. “It has always been like this,” he adds. There used to be about fifteen of them in Rivière-du-Loup, he estimates, and there are only about ten today.
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