I long for the days when air was free.

[Hardbopjazz]

I needed air one of my tires and was shocked to see it was going to cost me a dollar fifty. WTF? Is air free when you reside or do you have to pay at the stations?

[Royal Oak]

50p for 5 minutes is the going rate in the UK. 

[jlhoots]

I go to Discount Tires. They measure the air pressure in each tire & add air if necessary. All free. No waiting. They don't ask if I've purchased my tires there or not.

[Jazzmoose]

I'll never use that particular style machine again.  Not only blew out my bicycle innertube, it blew a quarter-sized chunk off of the tire.  Do NOT trust the reading on the pressure adjustment.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Jazzmoose

[ejp626]

Most cycle shops still have free air.

I know that 5 or 6 years ago, I had to pay for air in Chicago, though I think it was just a quarter.  It's not really a new thing.

 

[John L]

I've been living in Beijing lately.  Here we pay for a bit more for air in a different way - 1000s of dollars on machines and filters to purify the air in our apartments.

[Dan Gould]

I've relied on the 'safety check' when I get my oil changed for air pressure maintenance. The last time I had to fill 'er up was definitely a while ago and at that time I am pretty sure it was free.

[Soulstation1]

Quick Trip has free air pumps 

[catesta]

Yep, QT stores have free air although some times knuckleheads steal the air chuck.  

[JSngry]

Oh, but see, the air itself is free, it's the space the machine takes up, as well as the machine itself, as well as the cost of employees being there to ensure that the machine don't get jacked that you're paying for.

But air? Air is free, just go outside and try NOT to find some! But try to get that free air into your car tires, you need help with that, right, you need somebody who has a machine and a place to put it and somebody to sit behind the counter and act like they know it's there, you can't get that just by walking outside, none of those things are free, not one of them!!!!

Monetization of natural resources, baby, see how it creates wealth and jobs and greater market efficiencies?

[JSngry]

Truth be told, they need to make the air pump its own cost center and have it pay for its space every month no matter what. That's the only way to determine its real value to the store, to have it pay air pump company money back to facilities company money.

In fact, they will need to hire somebody to keep track of all the air pump cost centers the store has, and then somebody else to interpret that data to ensure that the air pump is pulling it's own weight, and then yet another person to bust the air pump's ass every quarter (no pun intended, but...) and then if the air pump finally kicks ass and delivers bigtime, give it a bonus of hookers and blow, just don't put it on the books like that.

See, that's three jobs out of one air pump, never mind the ancillary gigs for the whores and the coke dealers Tell me again why you miss the days when air was free, nobody had jobs, and you couldn't fine a good hooker or good blow, not individually and for damn sure not together.

[JSngry]

And then, once that air pump sees what the good life can do for him/her persinally, it become further incentived to lower production costs to it's cost center by all means availble, up to and including the importation of foreign air, and, eventually, illicit foreign air. Look to start getting some backalley Chinese air in your tires, and then when a rash of random tire explosions start occurring nationwide, you will find yourself asking WTF? air pump? when in fact what you should be asking is why the fuck was I  bitching about $1.50 air? I should have offered to pay $3.50 for that air to keep it clean, pure, and American, because people will do you right when you pay more, always.

[Jazzmoose]

I hate election years...

[Scott Dolan]

We invested in one of these for each of our vehicles. 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-600-Peak-Amp-Jump-Starter-J309/14560015?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=14560015&placement_id=irs-106-t1&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=de6e1e69-d115-4c20-934f-7518c659f764&customer_id_enc&config_id=106&parent_item_id=13035281&parent_anchor_item_id=13035281&guid=7a7ac336-c654-43c3-8bf8-55fa357a9934&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n

Just a few weeks after we purchased then I had to jump start my truck with it. Worth every  penny. 

[JSngry]

8 hours ago, Jazzmoose said:

I hate election years...

you can run, but you can't hide...unless you are running, in which case in plain sight is the best hiding place of all.

[Tim McG]

Costco is free.