New Zealand motorists are having difficulty refueling this Thursday, February 29. Across the country, gas stations were partially or even completely closed to the public. The cause: a software bug linked to the leap year.
Self-service fuel pumps across New Zealand were closed on Thursday as several companies reported a leap year-related “software issue” that left motorists in the lurch. In the capital Wellington, some stations have closed completely, leaving customers facing signs reading “Nationwide payment outage – site unavailable”.
A software problem
“This is a national issue affecting all fuel brands and it appears to be a software issue with the payment service provider because it is February 29, a leap year,” declared spokesperson Julien Leys of the Gull fuel distribution group. Gull’s competitor Allied Petroleum said it was facing a similar problem, adding that “staffed gas stations” were slowly coming back into service.
Another company, Z, apologized to customers: “We would like to assure you that we are working closely with our payment service provider to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”