One of Idaho’s Largest Gas Stations is Closing 1,000 Locations

It’s only natural that Idahoans who were lucky enough to get behind the wheel of a Power Wheels JEEP when they were kids would be skeptical of a world where the only new cars on the lot are zero-emission, electric vehicles. 

Sure, in the long run that’s probably good for the environment. Maybe our wallets, too. But for many of us, the idea of driving an electric vehicle brings back some embarrassing childhood memories. There you were, cruising down the sidewalk in the Power Wheels that all the neighbor kids wish they had. You felt SO COOL and then the JEEP just died. You hung your head, marched home and begged one of your parents to push it home for another charge. 

READ MORE: 11 Big Brands That Are Closing Idaho Locations in 2024

Could you imagine if that happened while you were getting on the Connector or during rush hour at the Flying Wye?! We’re sure that happens less often with EVs. Real electric vehicles do have a display similar to the gauge you’d find on a gasoline powered car. Unlike the Power Wheels of the 1990s, they should let you know when you’re close to needing a charge. 

Charging those electric vehicles can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours, depending on how drained the battery is. Our Subaru has a 16.6 gallon tank and it doesn’t take anywhere near that long to fill it up from empty! As much as we don’t like the idea of something slowing us down while we’re in a hurry, the transition to EVs is looming in some parts of the country. 

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California is moving forward with plans to eliminate new gasoline powered vehicles from being sold in their state by 2035. New York, Colorado, Massachusetts and Vermont have explored similar plans.

Meanwhile in Idaho? It doesn’t seem like we’re in much of a hurry. According to EV Hub, 36 states have an “EV Penalty.” What that really means is that the state charges an additional fee to drivers registering electric vehicles. Those fees are as low as $60 in Kansas and South Carolina or as high as $225 in Washington State. Idaho’s fee is fairly high at $140. 

Shell Announces Plans to Close 1,000 Gas Stations Before End of 2025

Unfortunately, when it comes to the number of drivers in the state, Idaho is literally “small potatoes.” One of the world’s largest gas station chains is making plans to stay relevant and those plans seem to be based on the trends in much more populated states. 

InsideEVs reports that Shell plans to divest 1,000 of its gas stations in the upcoming years. They will take the resources from those stations and focus them on creating more EV charging stations. The gas station giant hasn’t identified which locations they’d be getting rid of yet.

According to Yahoo! Finance, Shell had about 3,700 Recharge stations in March.  None of those are in Idaho or Oregon. There are about 50 in Washington State, mainly near Seattle. While they may not have any Recharge stations in Idaho, ScrapeHero says they’re one of the biggest gas station chains in the state with more than 90 locations.