Fuel pumps in and around the city are witnessing a fall of around 15-20 % in sales due to the reduction in the number of vehicles on the roads following the stringent measures being implemented against the spread of COVID-19.
D. Vijayakumar, who runs an outlet at Injambakkam, said that they were getting two vehicles every five minutes. “It started yesterday morning after the schools and colleges closed and many offices decided to give employees the option of work from home. Vehicles of educational institutions alone constitute around 10% of our sales. Even the number of two-wheelers has come down,” he said.
This is the same case with retail outlets on highways too, which are usually high-volume outlets.
Meanwhile, outlets have also begun to ask employees to wear masks and gloves, hand sanitise and wash hands frequently due to the high risk nature of the business. “I bought them only yesterday since they became available only now. We are beginning the safety measures today,. One employee in every shift will be cleaning door knobs, taps and places of frequent contact with disinfectant regularly,” said a fuel outlet owner in Tiruvallur district.
This also follows directives from oil companies asking retail fuel outlets to minimise cash and card transaction and switch over to ewallets to reduce human interface.
“Specific instructions have been provided for each kind of employee. Cashiers have to be more careful since they handle cash. The gloves and masks used by the customer attendants have to be disposed off with care everyday. And oil companies will not conduct any promotional activities or functions in our outlets during the period,” said a dealer.
