ST. CROIX — After recently popping a tire in a massive pothole while driving along Veterans Drive at night and replacing it with a spare, St. Thomas resident Andre Douglas realized he needed air, so he went to the nearest gas station — TotalEnergies in Estate Contant, also known as Gottlieb’s Quickway Service Station.
“When I went there, there was a plastic bag that was covering the actual air device, so that was out of order,” he said by phone while recounting his “frustrating” experience on the night of November 13.
Douglas was not the only motorist at the service station that night.
“There was about two cars in the Gottlieb parking lot that seemed like they were also in need of air,” he said.
The pothole has since been blocked by concerned citizens who posted a photograph and video on social media about their effort to place an orange barricade in front of it and a traffic cone inside it to prevent other motorists from blowing out a tire.
Douglas, who had his 4-year-old daughter in the vehicle, continued driving east in search of another air pump. As he pulled onto Veterans Drive, he said four to five cars that fell into the same pothole he did were pulled over on either side of the road. He stopped at a second gas station, TotalEnergies near Frenchtown in Estate Honduras, but the air pump was also broken. He eventually found air at a third gas station — Puma in Frenchtown.
“When I got to the Puma that did have air, there was about two to three cars that were there looking for air,” Douglas said. “So that night, about nine to 10 cars were victims of the same pothole, and I’m not sure how many after I found my air.”
It was not the first time he had to search for a working air pump either.
“I live on the east side of the island, and multiple gas stations on the east side of the island have no air at any given time, and they’re all in close proximity to each other,” Douglas said.
Service stations, however, are required by law to provide a functioning air hose to inflate tires during regular business hours of such service stations, according to the Virgin Islands Code, Title 12A, Section 207. The Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs can issue fines up to $100 for violations.
Due to limited personnel, DLCA tries to test air pumps at gas stations annually at the end of the year unless the agency receives a specific complaint, according to Matthew Padgett, DLCA director of Consumer Affairs. If a gas station fails to provide air or has a broken pump, he said DLCA conducts case-by-case assessments, often giving a warning before reinspecting in two weeks.
“Typically, we’ll assess it; how long it’s been out of service,” Padgett said. “If it’s something that just recently went out of service, we do have discretion to let those fuel stations have enough time to get the parts in or replace anything that’s damaged or broken, or repair their pump if need be.”
In addition to testing the air pumps, Padgett said DLCA also conducts visual assessments.
“Obviously, if you have an air hose that’s hanging off that doesn’t have an end on it, then it’s probably not functioning properly, and so we’ll further investigate,” he said.
DLCA’s Weights and Measures Unit found most businesses are operating in compliance with the law after recently conducting inspections at service stations in the territory, according to Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner H. Nathalie Hodge. She, however, noted that a few businesses were found to be noncompliant.
WTJX assessed air pumps territory wide on Monday and Tuesday at the service stations included on DLCA’s fuel price survey list. The assessment found 16 locations that either had broken pumps or none, including 10 on St. Croix, five on St. Thomas and one on St. John.
On St. Croix, WTJX found six service stations without any air pumps — Empire, Fill & Chill, Freedom City, Level Up, Island Petroleum, and Five Corners. WTJX found inoperable air pumps at La Reine, Budget and Quick Serve service stations, while the handle was not properly working at G Max. On St. Thomas, WTJX found air pumps were out of service at three TotalEnergies locations, as well as at Hometown Gas Station and Puma on the Northside. WTJX found an inoperable air pump at Race Track Service Station on St. John.
Although La Reine Service Station has had working air in the past, the hose is now missing.
“The problem is I have to replace it once a week,” Hasan Ali, La Reine Service Station owner, said.
Ali discussed ongoing issues such as damaged hoses and missing fittings on the end of the hose after leaving it out at night. He said he has not had any luck purchasing a replacement hose on island.
“I’m trying to find the same one,” he said, adding he is planning to get an alternative type of hose.
Five Corners Service Station has historically offered free air from a hose located at its former tire shop, but ongoing renovations to expand the interior of the store eliminated the tire shop and the air pump, according to Magdy Dawod, owner of the service station. He said he is planning to install a new air pump by the end of the year to offer free air once again.
“Customer service comes first,” he said.
The statute does not specify a maximum charge for air, but gas stations can charge for the equipment and electricity used. WTJX found that most gas stations territory wide provide free air, and others charge 25 cents or 50 cents. One gas station on St. Croix, Budget in Estate Golden Rock, charges $1.
DLCA intends to notify the business owners and provide guidance on achieving full compliance by the agency’s next scheduled inspections during the first week of December, according to Hodge. Businesses that fail to comply by that time will be issued a notice of violation, and fines will be imposed for each instance of noncompliance.
