Open question:
With modern technology, what stops a landowner from buying up 20, 30, maybe 50 lots in a town and installing unmanned gas stations? Just a couple of pumps and some security cameras, all wired to one dispatch building (which could even just be the owner's home). Employ only enough staff to handle the refueling trucks for a couple hours every other day, use the cameras and internal diagnostics of the pumps to know when maintenance is needed, and otherwise just sit back and collect revenue?
Are the margins so close on gas stations that you need the convenience store to make up the difference? If so, how much of that gap can you cover with a bank of vending machines?
@mtomczak I think of smaller towns than you do, clearly! :) But I guess the question is why a town would need 20-50 more than it has now. Are you thinking they will be able to significantly undercut price due to no personnel, and therefore take business from the existing ones? I would guess a totally employee-less gas station might be illegal in many jurisdictions. (Also zoning.)
@ceoln Basically that. I'm thinking someone could totally disrupt the local market and become a monopoly.
Zoning would definitely be an issue, but if they'll zone for the existing independent privately-owned gas stations, one can imagine they'll zone for all those stations to be owned by one person.
@ceoln My town has twenty. if you extend to the entire city, it's easily 50+.