CITGO Improves Fueling Experience for Drivers With Disabilities
HOUSTON — CITGO Petroleum Corp. is taking steps to assist drivers with disabilities, making it easier than ever for them to locate and fuel up at gas stations where assistance is available to them.
The fuelService mobile app enables CITGO customers who need assistance to quickly and conveniently find nearby gas stations that offer help. Upon the customer's arrival, the app then notifies the gas station attendant so someone can assist them.
The app, available for free on Android and Apple devices, was created by a driver with disabilities.
"By eliminating uncertainty for customers who need help refueling, and by reducing wait times, fuelService not only provides convenience, it provides peace of mind," said CITGO General Manager Brand Equity Kevin Kinney. "Now customers with disabilities don't have to drive from gas station to gas station to find an available attendant, nor will they have to honk their horns or flash their lights in hopes of catching someone's attention."
Proceeds from fuelService will benefit spinal cord and paralysis research. To encourage adoption of the app, CITGO is paying the associated licensing fees for its participating stations. All CITGO marketers will receive promotional kits and brochures.
"Drivers with disabilities have been waiting too long for an easier, struggle-free experience when filling up. Together, both CITGO and fuelService are transforming lives and providing more confidence to drivers with disabilities than ever before," said Josh Basile, quadriplegic and board member of United Spinal Association.
To use fuelService, drivers can download the app through Google Play or the App Store, or request service by calling or texting 844-957-1100. More information is available at fuelService.org.
"Adding fuelService to our offerings is a natural extension of our commitment to serving each and every customer," Kinney said. "We're proud to make the world a little more accessible."
CITGO Petroleum Corp.'s history of community service benefiting people with disabilities includes its recent 35th annual Corporate Golf Challenge benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, where it raised more than $700,000 for families living with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular diseases that severely weaken muscle strength and mobility.
In 2021, the CITGO-MDA golf tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas, set a new fundraising record, raising more than $314,000. CITGO marketers and retailers also raised more than $1 million through Shamrocks Against Dystrophy mobile sales and golf tournaments last year.
Since 1986, CITGO has raised more than $255 million through annual fundraising campaigns that support MDA's research grants and Care Center network at the nation's top medical institutions nationwide.
Headquartered in Houston, CITGO operates three refineries located in Lake Charles, La.; Lemont, Ill.; and Corpus Christi, Texas, and wholly and/or jointly owns 38 active terminals, six pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products, and supplies a network of approximately 4,400 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets, all located east of the Rocky Mountains. CITGO Petroleum Corp. is owned by CITGO Holding Inc.