On Saturday 24 October 2026, a filling station in Voorst, a village in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, closed its pumps for good. To mark its last day, the operator offered petrol and diesel at 1 euro a litre during the very last hour of opening. Drivers came from far away and the queues brought the village to a standstill.
A family-run station closing after 38 years
The station, at Rijksstraatweg 182A, belongs to the De Croon family. Jan de Croon senior took it over 38 years ago, before the business moved to its current address. At the end of 2026, the site is due to be taken over by the developer Bunte Vastgoed for the Poort van Voorst 2.0 project, which includes new housing.
His son, Jan de Croon junior, said the family was in talks with the municipality of Voorst about a new filling station planned near the locality of De Kar. The operator described the day as a gift to the village.
The terms of the 1 euro a litre offer
The offer ran from 4 pm to 5 pm and covered both petrol and diesel. For the rest of the day, a litre of petrol was priced at 2.13 euros. Two rules framed the discount: a maximum of 100 litres per fill-up, and a ban on filling jerrycans.
The day also featured other attractions: a wheel of fortune to win a free tank of fuel, a large screen carrying a thank-you message and, according to the initial announcement, a free car wash with any fill-up of at least 20 litres. At exactly 5 pm the pumps were due to be locked for good, as a farewell drink for the staff followed. It was the employees who decided which driver in the queue would be the last to be served.
A queue that blocked the whole village
The rush began in the morning: in the first half hour of opening, the station received four times as many customers as usual, according to its operator, who said he had not expected such a crowd so early. Two traffic marshals had been deployed from the start of the day.
Before 4 pm, more than a hundred cars were already queuing through the village. The unmanned Tango station across the road also filled up with waiting vehicles. Horns blared, tempers rose and one driver even called the police because of the length of the queue. One report mentions a temporary closure of access roads by the police.
Drivers came from all over the region, and sometimes from further afield: one of them drove fifty minutes to take advantage of the offer. A station employee said the tanks were half empty, so it was not certain that everyone could be served before closing time. Shortly before 5 pm, the station gates closed.
What was the benefit for drivers?
Compared with the 2.13 euros charged for the rest of the day, a litre at 1 euro represents a discount of 1.13 euros per litre. With the cap of 100 litres per visit, the maximum benefit was therefore 113 euros per driver. Reactions on the spot were mixed: some drivers were delighted to have taken advantage of the offer, others were angry about waiting in traffic jams.
The fuel price context in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, excise duty on petrol stands at 0.84 euro per litre in 2026, according to the ANWB, following the increase on 1 January. This taxation weighs on pump prices and fuels a phenomenon we have already covered: Dutch motorists crossing the German border to fill up.
To compare fuel price levels from one country to another, our fuel prices in Europe page brings together the data for each country.
What lies ahead for the Voorst site
After the closure on 24 October, the Rijksstraatweg site is due to pass into the hands of Bunte Vastgoed by the end of the year for the development of Poort van Voorst 2.0. For its part, the De Croon family is continuing its talks with the municipality of Voorst to set up a new station in the De Kar area.