But one by one, as Woolworths and Coles entered the Tasmanian fuel market in the 2000s, service stations started to phase out driveway service.

After the closure of the Kings Meadows Caltex in June, there were only two sites left offering the service: Caltex Charles Street and Caltas Glen Dhu.

That will soon become one.

The Charles Street service station will close on November 30, to be decommissioned by Caltex with a view to selling the land.

Service station owner Mal Philpot, who has worked at the site for 25 years, said it was a tough announcement for the six staff and loyal customers.

"The older customers really appreciate this service, and we're able to look after customers who are in wheelchairs too. Or anyone else who doesn't really want to get dirty and smell like petrol," he said.

"It's going to be a sad day when all six of these people are out of work.

"The customers are devastated. They're telling us they'll follow us wherever we go."

It was not just filling up customer cars with fuel either.

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Staff also helped out with on-the-spot tyre checks and battery, wiper blade and headlight replacements, allowing for a speedier stop compared with drivers having to do their checks manually at other service stations.

Mr Philpot said the driveway service was keeping the business viable, and after initially struggling to compete with the big players with their cut-price fuel 20 years ago, the customer base quickly rebounded.

"I always thought it'd make a comeback, and it did five to seven years after Coles and Woolworths came," he said.

"For the last 17 years, every year has seen more growth than the previous year."

Caltas Glen Dhu on Wellington Street will be the last service station offering driveway service, specifically on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

On other days, the site only has a single attendant who will attempt to provide the service.

Mr Philpot encouraged customers to support the Glen Dhu servo, owned by Northern Tasmania company Caltas. Mood Food Grand Central is also owned by Hobart company Bennett's Petroleum.

In a statement, Caltex said it was not economically viable to keep the Charles Street site open.

"Caltex has made the decision to decommission its service station on Charles Street, Launceston, commencing from Thursday 30 November 2020, due to the site no longer being economically viable," the statement reads.

"Following the closure of the site we will begin the decommissioning and remediation works before assessing the site's suitability for sale.

"We would like to thank the community of Launceston for their support over the past several years."

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