ORLANDO, FL - The owners of gas stations near Orlando International Airport?"whose gas prices are nearly double the area??s per-gallon rate?"said earlier this week that they??ll file suit to avoid having to post their prices, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Orlando??s City Council voted unanimously earlier this week to require gasoline price signage at stations near the airport, the last chance for tourists to refuel their rental cars before returning them. Two stations in particular have come under heat for having the city??s highest rates?"as much as $4.89 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline.
The owners of the station said that posting signs would be a financial burden and that the city doesn??t have the authority to force them to do it.
"They [council members] just don't like the price," said Doug DeVoogel, co-owner of a Shell station north of the airport. "You pay $1.50 more for a Big Mac at the McDonald's at the airport than you do at the one a half-mile down the road, but there's no sign that says, 'You better get your burger before you get to the airport.'"
Attorneys for the Shell station and nearby Suncast Energys station said that they will likely seek an injunction to stop the city from forcing compliance.
"You are telling these people they can no longer do business the way they've been doing it," said Gus Benitez, DeVoogel's attorney. "This is a bullying tactic, just because you got a few complaints."
City and tourism officials said that they have received multiple complaints from travelers who filled up at the stations without realizing the prices were much higher than the area??s average price. As such, they said that they want drivers to be aware before they pull up to those pumps.
"We are not trying to regulate the price of gas," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. "All we're trying to do is make sure that when people drive into these stations, they know what they're going to pay."
The two station owners intend to sue the city, arguing that the city??s new rule would be too expensive and that it is an unconstitutional abuse of the city??s authority.