I expect their will be more entertainment options at fueling stations, eateries, some modern form of putt-putt, or arcades, to keep you busy for longer.
Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
131–140 of 173 posts
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#132Not much. 15 years ago was 2010. Gas stations in 2025 are very similar to Gas stations from 2010. I doubt they will be too different in 2040. May be a few more EV chargers.
The ones they build here in Norway has changed somewhat from 2010. For one, mainly EV chargers, with just a few, if any, pumps. Mostly sells food and soft drinks, so hot dogs, fresh sandwiches, baked goods, with much more seating area so you can sit and eat while your car charges. Has almost no car-related stuff, just one or two small sections of blinker fluid, wunder-baum and such. And looking at the current trend,…
Weinermelange!
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#133There are going to be charging malls in the middle of nowhere. That’s about the only major change I expect. Think buckies or similar
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#134Have a look at Norway:
"many service center operators are removing one or more gas pumps and installing EV chargers instead. According to Bloomberg Hyperdrive, at the Uno-X Furuset service area on the outskirts of Oslo, four gas pumps have become three. ... At some service areas, the fuel pumps are all being removed to make way for EV chargers. "
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/03/28/trading-gas-pumps-for-e...
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#135Speaking as an American. They will be virtually identical, except that there will be far more ads. Perhaps stations in super urban areas will integrate AI into the pump, using your name and level 3 data to market to you hyper-specifically. Also Arizona teas will no longer say 99¢ on the can.
I’m pretty close to spraying something into the speakers to destroy them. I had to get gas at an ad blasting station yesterday and got just 3 gallons and left.
Out of curiosity, what would you spray?
(Probably not a good idea, there are camera's everywhere.)
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m pretty close to spraying something into the speakers to destroy them. I had to get gas at an ad blasting station yesterday and got just 3 gallons and left.
Out of curiosity, what would you spray? (Probably not a good idea, there are camera's everywhere.)
> Out of curiosity, what would you spray?
To take out speakers? Probably (closed cell) spray foam.
* https://www.lowes.com/pl/insulation-accessories/spray-foam-i...
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
IMO gas stations haven’t changed all that much over the last 50 years (forget the 15) beyond: - now having larger buildings to incorporate more convenience products (mostly foodstuffs) for sale - more pumps
It went from pay inside to pay-at-the-pump. That probably also led to the ability for more pumps at busy stations (w/o hiring more people).
In (the parts that I visited in) EU, it means some stations are completely attendant-less and cashless. Can fill up at 3AM in the boonies if you want.
North America has stuck to minimum of 1 staff at all times. No staff = closed.
Maybe that can change.
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hydrogen seems like going backwards into the future. For personal transport it surely is a dead end, there are no significant upsides to offset the large downsides compared to BEVs. Perhaps it can work well for certain commercial niches, time will tell.
One upside is Japan having a large undersea hydrogen deposits. And those deposits are not going anywhere. But personally I agree it's perfect for, say, urban trains, with predictable maintenance. But if Japan keeps investing we may see more than that.
That might help a lot in Japan.
Here in Norway we just have had a handful of hydrogen stations, and of those two went out of business.
Meanwhile almost all new cars here are BEV, even out in many rural areas BEVs are 50% of new sales.
A local store can relatively easily and cheaply install a supercharger. Installing a hydrogen pump is presumably much more expensive as it requires more space and more complex equipment. And it needs refilling by truck, while electricty just flows.
And while EV chargers or cars can catch fire during charging, hydrogen can explode violently[1][2] when mixed with air (the one in Norway registered as an earthquake 30 km, 20 miles, away).
As I said perhaps it will find some niche uses, but widescale adoptation seems very unlikely to me.
[1]: https://norwaytoday.info/news/explosion-sandvika-hydrogen-ta...
[2]: https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/safety-concerns-gr...
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least in the Bay Area it’s pretty common for people to park their car on the curb in front of their house and run a charge cable out over the sidewalk. Mostly just works.
*Parts of the Bay Area. There are parts where you'd have people drive through the neighborhood at 3am and yank/cut the charging cables for the copper in them.
Alright, even if I were to grant this without reservation this doesn't get us back to the GP's assertion that electric vehicles are luxury cars for a select segment of the population.
Re: Ask HN: In 15 years, what will a gas station visit look like?
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
The process has already begun - UK petrol station numbers are down by a third since the beginning of the century. As you say, they'll all but cease to exist in urban areas, with the process mostly complete by the end of the 2030s. I'm not sure that dedicated EV charging stations will be all that common in cities, though. Why not use existing car parks for that? Some probably will end up being used as surface car park…
I think vintage car enthusiasts will end up served by oil drums and a drum pump. That's already how petrol is delivered and distributed to small island communities. Many cities will ban vintage cars from entering.
I basically have my car to get from the big city I live in, to a secondary city. I always buy my fuel in that secondary city because it’s always much cheaper.
> Many cities will ban vintage cars from entering.
They already have, no? ULEZ and such.