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NJ gas station owners want residents to pump own gas
Some gas station attendants have begun to quit their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
TRENTON, N.J. - Gas prices are still plunging in New Jersey and around the nation amid the coronavirus outbreak with demand down as much as 50 percent in some places as inventory has risen to a record high.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $2.07, down three cents from a week ago.
Drivers were paying $2.78 a gallon a year ago at this time.
The national average gas price Friday was $1.82, down six cents from a week ago. Drivers were paying $2.83 a gallon a year ago at this time.
The drop in demand has led some gas station owners in the Garden State to demand government officials change the current laws around gas pumping.
Currently, the state forbids drivers to pump their own gas. Now, in light of COVID-19, many gas station attendants have reportedly quit their jobs or are too sick to report to their shifts creating further problems for gas stations.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.