Hy-Vee Offers Fueling Assistance to Handicapped

COLUMBUS, Neb. – The Hy-Vee gas station here is making it easier for handicapped individuals to fill up their vehicles. The business recently installed FuelCall, a push-button system on gas pumps that notifies employees when a customer needs assistance refueling.

"We felt like it was the right thing for the community. The service wasn't being offered elsewhere," Chad Dyhrkopp, Hy-Vee store director, told The Columbus Telegram.

FuelCall, a creation of Inclusion Solutions, is installed at four of the 12 gas pumps for both regular and diesel fuel. Signs indicate which pumps have the system. When a customer pushes the large, blue button, which is accessible from a vehicle, it rings inside the convenience store notifying attendants that a customer needs assistance, according to the report.

"We can then go out there and give them a hand," said Joe Pfeifer, Hy-Vee gas station manager.

Prior to the installation of FuelCall, Pfeifer said most regular customers who are handicapped or disabled would call the station ahead of time or from the parking lot to request assistance.

Stations are required to provide assistance to disabled drivers if more than one employee is on duty, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Drivers who have a "person with disabilities" license plate or parking placard qualify for assistance, the newspaper reported.

Depending on the popularity of the system, the managers said it's possible that FuelCall could be added to more pumps at the station, which is located at 3010 23rd St.