A gas station owner in Phoenix, Arizona, went out of his way to help motorists grappling with soaring gas prices by selling fuel at a lower price.
When fuel prices in Arizona went up to $5.66 a gallon on June 8, Valero Food Mart store owner Jaswiendre Singh sold gas for $5.19 a gallon, around 47 cents or half a dollar less than the price he purchased the fuel for from his supplier, KTVK-TV reported.
“If you have something, you have to share it with other people,” Singh told NBC News. Singh cited his religious beliefs as the motivation behind his gesture.
Singh said he chose to sell fuel for less “to give a break to the customer and my community,” KTVK-TV reported.
“People don’t have the money right now,” Singh said. “My mother and my father did teach us to help if you have something.”
“We teach our children the same thing,” Singh told NBC News. “If you have something, you have to share it with other people.”
Selling around 1,000 gallons daily on average, Singh ran a per day loss of approximately $500 because of his charitable deed, KTVK-TV reported.
In March, according to KTVK-TV, Singh was selling fuel for 10 cents less than the purchase price.
“God gave me help. It doesn’t matter. We are not here to make money right now. I’m very happy to help the other people,” the gas station owner told the news station in a March interview.
Do you expect a gas tax holiday to help everyday consumers?
“Now’s not time to make money. We have a lot of opportunity to make money. Right now, it’s time to help people; that’s it. That’s our goal,” Singh told the outlet in March.
Singh has been a resident of Phoenix for over twenty years, according to NBC News. The store owner works daily from 4 a.m. until midnight alongside his wife.
The duo has three children, one of whom is in college.
Gas prices in Arizona were at $5.359 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to the American Automobile Association.
Alongside states on the West Coast, Arizona has one of the nation’s highest fuel prices, AAA data showed.
In response to gas price hikes, President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged Congress to suspend the federal gas tax in an attempt to provide relief to motorists.
“If this bill is signed and enacted — becomes effective — it will help motorists,” Gasbuddy petroleum analysis head Patrick De Haan told NBC News.
However, the extent to which any relief with the taxes’ suspension would actual reach the consumer at the pump would depend on the stability of wholesale prices, De Haan said.
