How would you answer a question like, "How many gasoline stations are there in your country?" Surely no one expects a straight answer here but what would be your approach?

mementoflash

For a small country a "straight" and correct answer is very possible. Apr 22 06, 11:56 PM

McGruff

My approach would be to Google the phrase "gasoline stations in the United States" and see what comes up that's useful. Here's what I found: The number of retail gasoline stations in the United States rose from 167,000 in 2004 to 169,000 in 2005. Though the increase may seem small, this is the first increase in the number of gasoline stations in the last ten years! The increase may be due to the growing involvement of supermarkets in the retail gasoline sector. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2005/fcvt_fotw389.html This is data from 1997, but breaks the total count (126,889 stations) down by each State. http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:aUBU92EW0ysJ:hydrogen.pnl.gov/filedownloads/hydrogen/datasheets/gasoline_stations_by_state.xls+%22gasoline+stations+in+the+united+states%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10&ie=UTF-8">http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache Even though the two sites appear to contradict each other, (if both figures are correct, there has been more than one increase in the number of stations in the past ten years) it still gives you a ballpark figure of how many there might be. So if you told someone today that there are "about 160,000 to 170,000 gasoline retailers in the United States" you wouldn't be far off. Apr 23 06, 2:46 AM

McGruff

Here are a few more references. Be mindful of the dates of an article and what it is generally about. Some articles don't really need an exact number to make their point. To be sure, the 180,000 gasoline stations in the United States won't be going away. For one thing, fuel cell vehicles will need to fill up when on long trips away from home. (Story Date: 30/5/2002) http://www.planetark.org/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=16188 There are about 180,000 gasoline stations in the United States, according to the American Petroleum Institute. (March, 2002) http://c1.zedo.com/jsc/c1/ff2.html?n=162;c=1502/1500/1;s=687;d=16;w=720;h=300;t=UndertoneNetworks.com "With more than 125,000 gasoline stations in the United States and fuel prices expected to top $3 a gallon in some areas this summer, consumers will be searching for solutions to help them identify the most cost-effective locations to purchase gasoline..." (March 23, 2004) http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/index.php?duty=Show&id=8981&trv=1 Infrastructure. Because of its many uses 27 the refueling system for LPG is extensive. There are approximately 3,700 refueling sites in all 50 states, 28 which corresponds to 3.4% of the approximately 124,000 gasoline stations in the United States. 29 Because of its wide use, if the demand for LPG as an alternative fuel were to expand, it is likely that the supply infrastructure could expand proportionally. (December 5, 2000) http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/transportation/trans-38.cfm Apr 23 06, 3:22 AM

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