Every time a car pulls into John's Gulf on Union Street, the "ding-ding" of a service-station bell alerts Mary Kirchner Byerly that she has a new customer.

It's a sound from yesteryear.

The Cabbage Hill business, which has offered tire-pressure and fluid checks in addition to a quick fill 'er up since 1924, is believed to be the last remaining full-service station in the Lancaster area.

"We have a lot of great people coming in here who want that service when it's cold outside in the winter and hot like this in the summer," said Kirchner Byerly, who is 45 and the fifth generation of her family to run the station.

"This is history right here."

Full service, which has all but vanished at gas stations across the country since the 1970s, could make a comeback in Pennsylvania if a state lawmaker from Lancaster County has his way.

Rep. Tom Creighton has authored a bill that would require gas stations to operate at least one full-service pump under state law. The legislation would apply to stations with at least six pumps.

As recently as a decade ago, 22 gas stations offered full service in Lancaster County, according to AAA.

Creighton, a Republican from Rapho Township, said his proposal is rooted in necessity, not nostalgia.

"It is increasingly difficult for individuals who are elderly or disabled to find a full-service gas station," Creighton said in a memo being circulated to other House members.

In an interview, the legislator said he's heard nothing but positive feedback about the legislation.

"My wife's mother lives with us. She just turned 90. And she loves to drive," Creighton said. "But it's very hard for her to get out and pump gas. It's a big deal."

But trade groups whose members include service stations, garages and convenience stores voiced skepticism about the idea.

"We would not necessarily be in favor of that because a lot of stations that aren't full-service, especially convenience stores, don't have the manpower available to man a pump," said Ross DiBono, director of the Pennsylvania Gasoline Retailers Association & Allied Trades.

"If you did have to hire someone, God knows what they would have to charge for full service," DiBono said. "You're going to be paying $5 or $6 for a gallon of gasoline."

Creighton's proposal would allow merchants to increase the price of gas at their full-service pumps. It would also levy a fine of up to $500 a week against gas stations that don't comply.

DiBono said attendants at service stations are already willing to pump gas, without a state law mandating it or charging higher prices.

"If somebody is handicapped, if they just pull up to the front and blow the horn to indicate they can't pump gas, someone would be happy to come over and put the gasoline in for them," DiBono said.

Similarly, Mike Cortez, a spokesman for Sheetz, said employees at his large chain of convenience stores are trained  in helping disabled drivers get gas. They don't need full-service pumps because in-store workers are available to help, he said.

"What it allows us to do is provide the assistance to those who need it without increasing the cost to everybody by providing an additional person out at the pumps," Cortez said.

"This proposal would run the risk of increasing the cost of gas for everybody without significantly impacting the service people can get already," he said.

Barry Scaringi of Reamstown, who came up with the idea of requiring full-service pumps and approached Creighton, said the proposal would create jobs. in addition to helping elderly drivers like his mother.

"My mother calls up and says, 'Barry, I need gas in my car,' " Scaringi said. "Seniors all across Pennsylvania shouldn't have to do that. They used to be convenience stores. It's not convenient for seniors to be pumping their own gas."

Creighton said he expects to introduce his bill this week.

Currently, New Jersey and Oregon are the only states that require full service.

New Jersey banned self-service gasoline stations in 1949 as a safety measure. Efforts to overturn the ban have failed there and in Oregon, which passed its law in 1951, also for safety reasons.

tmurse@lnpnews.com