First ever ‘low-cost’ petrol station in Mallorca

THE first entirely self-service petrol station in Mallorca was opened to the public on Thursday (July 2) in Calvia.
The facilities can be found at the Avenida Mar Mediterraneo at the Son Bugadellas industrial site and has been opened by company Buga 2000.
Although popular in parts of central Europe, this kind of petrol station, which does not employ staff but allows customers to pay in cash or using a credit card through machines after refuelling, are slowly becoming more common in Spain. However, current regulations only allow these stations to be placed in industrial sites or big shopping centres, and they are forced to have at least one employee to help with potential incidents.
The main advantage is a significant price reduction, which can be from six to 10 cents lower than those offered in traditional stations.
However, faced with the competition, other petrol stations in the area decided on Thursday to also lower their prices. Specifically, the one on the road connecting Santa Ponça and Calvia Vila, barely 200 metres away from the newly opened station, adapted the prices to mimic its competitor’s.