Dealer prices gas over $4 in protest

He says tactics used by Shell are unfair to operators

It has become almost a regular stop for San Francisco tourists. Once they’ve seen the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Pyramid, they can drive down Harrison Street to see the most amazing sight of all.

Regular gas for $4 a gallon.


Actually, it is higher than that. At Bob Oyster’s Shell station at Sixth and Harrison, regular is $4.33 a gallon, plus is $4.43, and “V-Power” is $4.53. Motorists can be seen rolling their eyes as they drive by. Just another example of a greedy station owner, sticking his customers for all they are worth?

Not really.

There’s a much deeper story here, and it begins with Oyster, a respected, self-made businessman who turned a single station into Oyster Petroleum, a profitable firm in Redwood City. Oyster is nobody’s fool. Don’t think he isn’t well aware that the Chevron station across the street is selling regular for 70 cents less.

Putting the price way up over $4 a gallon isn’t about making a profit. It’s about making a statement to a multinational corporation. After Shell forced him to pay higher prices for gas in San Francisco and jacked up his rent, Oyster says, he decided to fight back.

San Francisco Chronicle