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A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station or petrol station is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants for motor vehicles. But The most common fuels sold are gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel. more...

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Some stations carry specialty fuels, such as liquified petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), hydrogen, biodiesel, ethanol, or kerosene. In recent times, filling stations have also begun to sell butane and have added shops to their primary business; convenience stores are now a familiar sight alongside pumps.

The term "gas station" is mostly used in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States and Canada, where the fuel is known as "gasoline" or "gas". In some regions of Canada, the term "gas bar" is also frequently used. Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the form "petrol station" or "petrol pump" is used. In the United Kingdom the single noun garage is still commonly used, even though the petrol station may have no service/maintenance facilities which would justify this description. Similarly, in Australia, the term service station ("servo") describes any petrol station. In Japanese English, it is called a "gasoline stand". In Indian English, it's called a petrol pump or a petrol bunk. In some regions of America, filling stations usually have a mechanic on duty, but this is uncommon in other parts of the world.

Number of petrol stations worldwide

As of 2007, there are thought to be fewer than 10,000 petrol stations in the U.K.

The USA has perhaps 200,000 gas stations

In Canada, the number is on the decline to about 14,000.

History of filling stations in the United States

The first places that sold gasoline were pharmacies, as a side business. In fact, the first petrol station was the city pharmacy in Wiesloch, where Bertha Benz refilled the tank of the first automobile on its maiden voyage from Mannheim to Pforzheim. The increase in automobile ownership after Henry Ford started to sell automobiles that the middle class could afford resulted in a greater demand for filling stations. The world's first purpose built gas station was constructed in St. Louis, Missouri in 1905 at 412 S. Theresa Avenue. The second gas station was constructed in 1907 by Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) in Seattle, Washington. Reighard's gas station in Altoona, Pennsylvania claims that it dates from 1909 and is the oldest existing gas station in the United States. Early on, they were known to motorists as "filling stations". Standard Oil began erecting roadside signs of their logo to advertise their filling stations.

Read more at Wikipedia.org