Service stations
The early 1920s brought big changes to the way motorists bought their fuel in the European countries where BP gasoline was sold. In the UK until then, ‘motor spirit’ had been sold in two-gallon cans at garages, hardware stores, blacksmiths or pharmacies.
But the sheer number of new cars on the streets meant that approach had become unworkable. Car owners were ready for service with a smile.
Service stations emerge
The first gasoline station may have opened in St Louis, Missouri, in 1905, but for years the best most motorists got was a single skinny pump outside a shop or garage. With no designated parking areas to accommodate the waiting cars, traffic quickly jammed the dirt streets.
The first service station from BP heritage company Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco) opened in 1912 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And by 1913, Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) was putting up pre-fabricated metal stations across its US territory.
In the European car boom, BP-branded stations became fixtures on the roadside. In Germany in 1926, Aral also launched a chain of service stations. The design was functional at first, but the stations soon began to sport a distinctive semi-circular ‘mushroom stalk’ roof canopy, a landmark on German roads for years to come. The great service station design age was underway.
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In the European car boom, BP-branded stations became fixtures on the roadside. In Germany in 1926, Aral also launched a chain of service stations. The design was functional at first, but the stations soon began to sport a distinctive semi-circular ‘mushroom stalk’ roof canopy, a landmark on German roads for years to come. The great service station design age was underway.
Competition along the roadsides
Car culture swept the western world in the 1930s. To stay competitive, service stations began offering amenities beyond basic fuel. Larger stations might stock a range of car accessories, for example. And new electrical pumps had a novel, competitive edge over the older, hand-operated variety.
Post war BP pump and garage worker toy
After a major redesign in 1958, BP stations were white with yellow canopies. Pumps were also white, with yellow or green sides and square light fixtures on top – a design classic. Some stations had new café or refreshment areas as an added attraction. Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco) opened sit-down restaurants at many of its stations in the USA, to promote family travel.
Speed, convenience and complete self-service
Speed and convenience had become the hallmarks of a successful service station, and with its innovations BP assumed a position of pacesetter. The Supermix pump, which BP launched in Britain in 1959, let motorists blend fuel from a single pump with a space-saving carousel design that could accommodate several cars at a time. It was a hit.
In the early 1990s BP stations around the world got a new green look, with a unique, lightweight aluminium canopy. Amoco made a retail alliance with McDonald’s, bringing roadside speed and convenience to one of its most logical conclusions.
The 21st century service station
In 2000 the BP group announced plans for a radical update of its service stations around the world. The group had also just announced a new brand identity, with the Helios sunburst replacing the familiar BP shield. But this refit would involve much more than merely hoisting a new sign at each of the 28,000 sites.
Environmental factors were central to the new BP stations. The standard design included solar panels in the canopy above the pumps. In most countries, cleaner-burning fuels such as autogas and the Ultimate range were on offer.
Some stations went much further. In 2001 BP opened the greenest petrol station in the world in Essex, England. Able to generate up to half its own power on site from solar panels and wind turbines, the Hornchurch BP Connect station had many other eco-friendly features, from a reed system to purify dirty water to advanced, energy-efficient coolant technologies and vapour recovery systems to catch the vapours released as customers filled their tanks.
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