>Gas stations make very little money on gas, most of their income is from people buying cigarette, lotteries, lotto, beer, beverages, and some trinkets in the store.
This omits a significant factor, which is that it used to be many gas stations also had several repair bays, employing a mechanic or two.
Anecdata: between mid-1980s and 2000, four such gas station/repair businesses within a mile of my house closed, leaving three gas/convenience store businesses remaining within that same radius, some of which used to have repair service as well.
This used to be a solid small business opportunity for a solo or partnership owner/worker. I suspect that as cars became more computerized the repair business became too specialized, and also some of the stations which were leased from large oil companies were sold out from under the operator.
I suspect car longevity has also been a factor. During my lifetime cars had 5-digit odometers. Cars now regularly last 200,000 to 300,000 miles. Oil changes have gone from 3,000 miles to 5,000 or as much as 15,000. Even more in a hybrid.
Those repairs that are necessary are harder than they used to be. I recently had to have a headlight bulb changed professionally because I just didn't want to dismount the wheel well mud guard. Some, I've heard, require you to remove the bumper.
But I think a lot of those service bays just stopped seeing as much traffic as they used to.
This omits a significant factor, which is that it used to be many gas stations also had several repair bays, employing a mechanic or two.
Anecdata: between mid-1980s and 2000, four such gas station/repair businesses within a mile of my house closed, leaving three gas/convenience store businesses remaining within that same radius, some of which used to have repair service as well.
This used to be a solid small business opportunity for a solo or partnership owner/worker. I suspect that as cars became more computerized the repair business became too specialized, and also some of the stations which were leased from large oil companies were sold out from under the operator.