Do you pay for air?

All air is free right? I mean no one charges us to breathe every day and amid all the smoke that assails us on a regular basis, we enjoy the one thing that is still free.

Should air be free?

Well not all air is free as certain types do attract a cost. If you want helium filled balloons for example, then you have to pay to inflate them.

So it’s no surprise that we now have to be paying for other types of air.

Recently much focus was given to the lack of air hoses on many air pumps in gas stations across the island.  If you found yourself with soft tires especially around town, you often went on a search to try and find a working pump.

Often the pump would be at the gas station but had no hose to connect it to the machine. It makes you wonder just who was stealing these hoses?Anyway the gas stations were really not interested in replacing them as they were provided free of cost to their customers.

In Jamaica we really get spoiled as we don’t even come out of our cars at the gas station, and the word ‘self service’ is pretty much foreign to us. Our American counter parts, wash their own windows and pump their own gas. Maybe that’s our future?

Paid Air is here!

Back to the topic at hand, I recently tried the new and improved system which involves buying and inserting tokens in order to receive air for tires.

One of the gas stations which offers this service is located at the intersection of Dunrobin and Constant Spring Road. Although it’s been around for a while I had never wanted to try it, as the machine looked to be difficult to operate.

I must admit though that the experience was not as challenging as I had first imagined. It was a simple matter to insert the token in the slot on the machine and receive the air.

The attendant was helpful and after spending a paltry $50.00, I was able to get enough air to fill all four tires.

In fact, even after I was finished, the air continued to flow through the hose and so I was able to ‘share’ my $50 air with another driver.

I think paying for air is not so bad if it can be guaranteed to be made available for all consumers.

What’s your take? Will you pay for air?

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner Online Writer

Tags: air, charges