Navy making adjustments to its new
gasoline voucher program in England
By Ron Jensen, U.K.
bureau
RAF MILDENHALL, England — The U.S. Navy Exchange Service is tweaking a new
gasoline voucher program introduced this summer to make the popular program even more
customer-friendly.
Starting soon, customers will be able to buy vouchers good for purchases of 40 and 50
liters. The new vouchers will boost the largest denomination available, which is currently
30 liters, said Bob Miley, services operations manager for the exchange at West Ruislip,
England.
Plus, Miley said, the 10-liter coupon will disappear, giving customers the option of
buying coupons good for the purchase of 5, 20, 30, 40 or 50 liters of gasoline.
"The stations prefer you use the least amount of coupons," Miley said.
Some will accept only one voucher per visit.
A person with a four-wheel drive vehicle or large van might use two 30-liter vouchers
for a fill-up. The larger limits will reduce that to one voucher per fill-up in many
cases.
These changes will enhance a program that was introduced three months ago to expand the
number of stations in the U.K. that would accept pre-paid gasoline coupons from drivers
associated with the U.S. forces stationed on the island nation.
In the previous program, only a relative handful of stations accepted the green Navy
Exchange coupons.
"I believe it got down to 67 stations," Miley said Thursday.
The new program, known as the All Star Fuel program, is accepted by 94 percent of the
12,500 stations in the United Kingdom. They can also be used in the Republic of Ireland.
Any station sporting the All Star Fuel logo of a gold star on a black background will
accept the vouchers.
The new program, which began May 1, was in direct response to complaints that too few
stations participated in the previous program, Miley said.
Staff Sgt. Dave Flanagan agrees with that. He said he planned his trips around the U.K.
based on which stations participated in the program.
"When I was going to Scotland, I knew exactly what gas stations took them,"
he said. "Before I left, I made phone calls to see if they still took them."
The vouchers cost a bit more than on-base gasoline — 55 cents per liter compared
to the on-base price of 46.9 cents. But that’s a significant savings over the British
price that in some cases is about $1.20 per liter. They can be purchased at exchanges
throughout England by anyone with a proper ID card and the blue Certificate of Eligibility
for Motor Fuel.
The vouchers are not available for people on leave traveling in England. Miley said a
person must have orders to make a purchase.
"I think it’s great," said Maj. Todd Lancaster. "We’ve used
them all through Wales and Scotland and England already."
Miley said the same company that administered the old program — PHH Arval —
is administering the new one. They responded to a request to find a better way of serving
the military community.
The new system simply piggy-backs on the existing All Star Fuel program. Miley said
British companies that own a fleet of trucks, for example, provide their drivers with
pre-paid vouchers good for a certain number of liters of gasoline. The vouchers prevent
the drivers from carrying cash or credit cards for fuel purchases.
"It was widely used and accepted throughout the U.K," Miley said.
Some glitches have cropped up in the first three months of the program, Miley admitted.
"We’ve had people get turned away," he said.
Some stations, mostly in small towns and villages, have refused to accept the vouchers
even though the stations are part of the program. In such cases, a telephone call can
clear up confusion. And if a person is forced to pay cash, they can get reimbursed.
But all in all, the program has been a success.
"We’ve had absolutely no trouble," Lancaster said. "We’ve used
800 liters already."
Back to July stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
