I've never owned a car in a city as dense as SF or New York so maybe it's different in places like that, but this strikes me as yet another example of the "Uber-For-X" SV startup that doesn't solve any real problem. Stopping by the gas station once a week on my way home is simply not a big enough annoyance for me to subscribe to yet another service.
I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model based on the rise of transportation-as-a-service and the inevitable demise of gasoline in favor of EV's. Both of those factors will be especially pronounced in the Bay Area, where this startup hopes to gain a foothold.
I guess I'm one of those weird outliers who has a use case but still won't use the service. My wife works nights and rarely remembers to fuel our vehicle. I commute via Uber or bus so I never have it either. $15/mo is still too much for the service. Sooner or later my wife will run out of gas and then she'll do a better job of remembering to fuel the truck.
Furthermore, Uber solved a problem in a market with inefficiencies and use regulation arbitrage to do it. This is just an on demand service betting on the fact that people are lazy enough to not want to put gas into their car. IMO, there are bigger (or actual) problems to solve.
Honestly, I wonder why they didn't launch in Chicago or Boston in the winter when weather would make people not want to bother going outside.
> I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model based on the rise of transportation-as-a-service and the inevitable demise of gasoline in favor of EV's. Both of those factors will be especially pronounced in the Bay Area, where this startup hopes to gain a foothold.
IIRC they're also pushing for traction in Tennessee where one of the founders is originally from, so they've split their eggs into at least 2 markedly different baskets.
I can stop for gas, go in for a cup of Starbucks and be back to my car that now has a full tank in less than 5 minutes.
Would I pay $15 a month for this even though my normal routine doesn't suck? Maybe. But what about the actual gas cost? That's more important than the $15 subscription fee if the spread is large enough and I'm guessing it is since they have to pay for the drivers, carry some kind of insurance I presume, and whatever other costs are involved.
I can see this being a great service. Yeah maybe bike packed, dense SF is not going to be their ideal market, but places like LA where there are more cars than sands on a beach can definitely benefit from a service like this. An average commuter in LA has to fill up their tank every one or two weeks. Not having to think about gas ever is a game changer. I also never really enjoyed going to greasy gas stations.
Additionally, what about liability? Even though the chances of a static electricity induced explosion from metal to metal contact during refueling is infinitesimal, it exposes all the other cars in the area to that risk unwittingly.
Guys, guy, can you look beyond what you see today? Filling gas is merely an MVP. The goal at the minimum is to manage every car post purchase
Gas is merely a way to start the relationship between the car and the owner.
car servicing is a massive low hanging fruit after the gas one. Presently my car is over a month due for servicing, I'll happily pay 15% more to get someone come do it where I parked it.
My suggestion to the founders would be to test switching between "refuelling" tagline and "serving where you are" and see which converts better. I believe too many people who need the second will dismiss you on seeing the mundane first.
How do they open your gas tank? I think the most interesting part is their partnership with Firestone... On demand car servicing while you are at work seems like it solves a bigger problem than filling up with gas.
I wonder if there has been a roadblock to that that needs solving. Because replacing auto glass while you're at work has been a thing for a very long time.
That is honestly my biggest question, they gloss over it in the article but surely accessing a gas tank without the keys to the vehicle just means they have found a way to break into the fuel cap reliably for different models?
The way it was written in the article suggests that, but perhaps they are just giving users some proprietary hardware to put on the car.
Unfortunately this sounds like another startup that won't exist 2 years from now. They are solving a problem that isn't really a problem. And super long term when everyone has an electric car this won't even be an issue. The potential client base seems really small. They would have to pivot like crazy.
Having started driving in the age of 99¢/gal gas, I am highly sensitive to price differences between stations, and I choose between 3 stations that are always within 5¢ of each other. I am typically not so price sensitive (with other purchases), but with gas I make minor schedule/route deviations to save <75¢ on a fill up. Curiously, because this startup charges a monthly convenience/subscription charge—instead of an incremental fuel charge—I was actually willing to consider it. But when I did the math, it didn't come close to making sense.
Having a service like this would save me some amount of time, I suspect that if I significantly relaxed my fueling station choices, it would cost me much less than $15/mo, and the inconvenience of filling up would be diminished nearly to zero. There are stations very near where I live, so route deviations would disappear, and the lines are never very long.
Basically, I think part of the allure of a service like Yoshi is it removes the decision paralysis that results from having many different gas stations available, and having to choose when/where to fill up. Ultimately not a game-changer for me, but I appreciate that it makes me consider alternatives!
Good question. We created a device (that we call a "Fuel Vault") that we can install in your car's "gas flap." We'll require that you leave your car's gas flap popped open for your first fill-up so that we can install it. After that, we'll be able to get into your gas flap anytime. It doesn't require any permanent modifications to your car, and can be removed anytime.
Crowbar. It's super high tech. Seriously though, I'd like to know too. everything I can think of is either expensive/time consuming (syncing generic new wireless keys, copying physical keys), potentially damaging to the car, or require the provisioning of something that you leave plugged into the obd-2 port. That latter one you could do with 15$ in parts and a cavalier disregard for the cars security, so that could be it?
I'm curious about trademark issues WRT the company having the same name as a well-known Nintendo character. IANAL, and I know that the context in which a name is used affects whether or not the name is protected, but I've got to think that if (for example) I started an extremely not-video-game-related company named "Pikachu" that I would likely get some heat for it, even if it was just a toothless nastygram from a lawyer asking me nicely to not use the name.
Is the name "Yoshi" not as protected for whatever reason (more common name/word/etc.), or is this just a case where the company is in a different industry therefore Nintendo's protection doesn't apply, or is this a risky thing to do? I'm just genuinely curious about how this stuff works, I have no stake in any of it. It's a great name and I wish the startup the best.
I've had a couple of fill-ups with Yoshi since signing up a few weeks ago. It's been great for my Mountain View commutes so I don't have to lose more time with my family because I had to stop for gas on the way home.
I've seen Booster Fuels trucks around at a company I used to work at. To me this makes the most sense as a perk offered by a company not in a major city, that has huge parking lots of cars. I used to commute to Santa Clara 3x a week from SF and needed to re-fuel every week. If the company offered the service as a perk with me just paying for gas, that would be pretty convenient no-brainer.
Why did you choose to go after the customer market directly? This seems like the kind of thing that could work being sold directly to companies with large workforces in office parks. That way you bill the compnay for the service, and the individual only for the cost of the fuel. Yoshi could then save money by sending a single fuel truck to a location to fuel multiple cars in one trip.
The company then gets the benefit of a unique(ish) perk to offer to employees.
Full disclosure: I don't drive that often, bike to work and probably fill my gas tank once a month or less
I actually think this is a pretty good idea, especially if you can also handle the annoying, piddly maintenance stuff, like tire pressure, fluids and perhaps oil changes for me.
I was skeptical about the business when it was on-demand gas delivery (when David told me about it), but I really like this pivot. The friction of filling gas will vary greatly from person to person (and many will have already figured out how to minimize that friction in their weekly routines), but services and check up are painful for nearly everyone -- especially since they're infrequent and relatively unfamiliar tasks. Kudos.
I can't imagine a $15/month consumer offering working. But I could see a company-sponsored offering to fill up a parking lot full of cars with cheap gas to the employee.
When I saw the first picture of the article, I thought the premise was that you could get your gas filled while you were actually driving like a plane refueling in the sky. That's not what it is though.
They have had this service in yachting for years.[0] The best is being close enough for a fuel truck to reach.[1]When I was in St. Thomas Carlos Slim's crew were fueling his yacht Helo[2] with the only line that would reach far enough down the dock which only pumps about 25 gallons a minute. The engineers had to hold watch day and night until it was filled.
Yes, to their customers. With Getaround you need to go to a gas station and refill the car to a specified level (typically full) every trip, no exceptions ever, even if you only used it to move your groceries 10 blocks. OTOH, the hourly price is lower.
With Zipcar you must return the tank at least 1/3rd (maybe it's 1/4th) full, but there is a gas card in the visor. They're apparently using some kind of fleet management system, because the gas pump itself prompts you for the odometer value and your "driver ID" number (on your Zipcard) before fueling. Same interface at competing gas stations, so it's apparently a standard thing.
It's a bit unpleasant because you can't cut the reservation time too close to your needs - need to allow extra time to go to a gas station and back.
Totally, I'm always stuck with the Enterprise Car Share car with less than 1/4 tank and get stuck with an extra $25 'refueling fee' when I don't take it back (I have to pay for the extra 15 min of rental time PLUS stop by a gas station--which is super annoying). This would be a killer use case for their fleet to manage.
I'm probably the only one here who actually enjoys taking a break from my commute to pull over, refuel and get a drink/snack while I'm at it. But I can totally see where this would work (depending on how much one drives). I can see my wife use this to not have to deal with getting gas, especially when she drives our two babies around. I wonder if they offer both regular and premium gas as my car needs premium (would be good info to have in their website before I'm forced to download the app). Also, reading on their website they claim it's better for the environment to not have to drive to a gas station. Again, this depends on the location, but where I live (SF Bay Area) there's a gas station on almost every main intersection of roads so it's hard to believe that that would take me more gas than for them to have it drive out to my office.
For all of the ridiculous "fire professionals" because safety hrmmm huuhh drep mentioned in the articles, let me just point out that this(1) is a thing that already drives fairly recklessly through the neighborhoods in my town delivering fuel and doesn't seem to do half of the things these car-fuel delivery companies do to deal with spillage issues.
[+] [-] danhak|9 years ago|reply
I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model based on the rise of transportation-as-a-service and the inevitable demise of gasoline in favor of EV's. Both of those factors will be especially pronounced in the Bay Area, where this startup hopes to gain a foothold.
[+] [-] technofiend|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] noer|9 years ago|reply
Honestly, I wonder why they didn't launch in Chicago or Boston in the winter when weather would make people not want to bother going outside.
[+] [-] hkmurakami|9 years ago|reply
IIRC they're also pushing for traction in Tennessee where one of the founders is originally from, so they've split their eggs into at least 2 markedly different baskets.
[+] [-] ssharp|9 years ago|reply
Would I pay $15 a month for this even though my normal routine doesn't suck? Maybe. But what about the actual gas cost? That's more important than the $15 subscription fee if the spread is large enough and I'm guessing it is since they have to pay for the drivers, carry some kind of insurance I presume, and whatever other costs are involved.
[+] [-] SonicSoul|9 years ago|reply
*EDIT: off topic, Always Sunny In Philadelphia solution to this problem.
[+] [-] kilroy123|9 years ago|reply
Not to mention many people like to stop for gas for an excuse to grab a snack or drink.
[+] [-] lallysingh|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|9 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] soheil|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bubbleRefuge|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aresant|9 years ago|reply
I probably average 2 trips to the gas station a month and I have a below average commute.
Each trip takes me 10 mins out of my way + 10 mins of fueling depending on if there's a line or not.
And it's always before work (I'm in a rush) or after work (want to get home to family).
Paying a startup $15/mo to reclaim even 40 mins a month of my personal time is a no brainer.
[+] [-] OoTheNigerian|9 years ago|reply
Gas is merely a way to start the relationship between the car and the owner.
car servicing is a massive low hanging fruit after the gas one. Presently my car is over a month due for servicing, I'll happily pay 15% more to get someone come do it where I parked it.
My suggestion to the founders would be to test switching between "refuelling" tagline and "serving where you are" and see which converts better. I believe too many people who need the second will dismiss you on seeing the mundane first.
Best of luck!
[+] [-] macandcheese|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] city41|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ehnto|9 years ago|reply
The way it was written in the article suggests that, but perhaps they are just giving users some proprietary hardware to put on the car.
[+] [-] joshmn|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] toephu2|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fred256|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ohitsdom|9 years ago|reply
Why? Even if truck driving jobs tend to be contract positions, this isn't any driving job. And it certainly isn't uber.
[+] [-] gnicholas|9 years ago|reply
Having a service like this would save me some amount of time, I suspect that if I significantly relaxed my fueling station choices, it would cost me much less than $15/mo, and the inconvenience of filling up would be diminished nearly to zero. There are stations very near where I live, so route deviations would disappear, and the lines are never very long.
Basically, I think part of the allure of a service like Yoshi is it removes the decision paralysis that results from having many different gas stations available, and having to choose when/where to fill up. Ultimately not a game-changer for me, but I appreciate that it makes me consider alternatives!
[+] [-] dougdonohoe|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tantalor|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] angersock|9 years ago|reply
What a good way of summing up the fashion of the times.
[+] [-] trevorcreech|9 years ago|reply
Very curious how this works.
[+] [-] nick007|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cdibona|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mwfunk|9 years ago|reply
Is the name "Yoshi" not as protected for whatever reason (more common name/word/etc.), or is this just a case where the company is in a different industry therefore Nintendo's protection doesn't apply, or is this a risky thing to do? I'm just genuinely curious about how this stuff works, I have no stake in any of it. It's a great name and I wish the startup the best.
[+] [-] killion|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] physcab|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nick007|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] noer|9 years ago|reply
Full disclosure: I don't drive that often, bike to work and probably fill my gas tank once a month or less
[+] [-] Sanddancer|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mring33621|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hkmurakami|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tlrobinson|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pbreit|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] davidsawyer|9 years ago|reply
Just a heads up, I noticed a typo on the membership page: "No need to even look at the gas gauage anymore"
[+] [-] omegant|9 years ago|reply
Are you thinking about that option?
[+] [-] jeffwass|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] a_small_island|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zappo2938|9 years ago|reply
[0] http://www.petersonfuel.com/
[1] http://www.lukfuel.com/
[2] https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/61/f8/9a/61f89a5b5...
[+] [-] kirykl|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tlrobinson|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] superuser2|9 years ago|reply
With Zipcar you must return the tank at least 1/3rd (maybe it's 1/4th) full, but there is a gas card in the visor. They're apparently using some kind of fleet management system, because the gas pump itself prompts you for the odometer value and your "driver ID" number (on your Zipcard) before fueling. Same interface at competing gas stations, so it's apparently a standard thing.
It's a bit unpleasant because you can't cut the reservation time too close to your needs - need to allow extra time to go to a gas station and back.
[+] [-] emmiechang|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Nullabillity|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nick007|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tinbad|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] noonespecial|9 years ago|reply
(1) http://jamesheatingoil.net/Members/1/galleries/Oil_Truck/oil...
Edit: Also and aside... the last driver I saw hop out and fill a tank from one of these trucks chain smoked during the entire fill. ?!!!