Show HN: Purple Services – On-demand gas delivery right to your car

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9535989

by elwell • 11 years ago

7 9 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Launched an app/service that lets you order gas for your car and it will be delivered right away. We drive to your location and fill up your car. I developed the app as an HTML5 app. Would like to know what you think. Criticism positive/negative is very welcome. Thanks!

Our site is: http://purpledelivery.com

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/purple-services/id970824802

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.purple.app

byoung2• 11 years ago

Where do you operate, and what is the cost/markup? Those are questions people want answered before they go though the trouble of installing the app, creating an account, etc.

elwell4• 11 years ago

We currently only cover West Los Angeles.

Until June 1st, there is no delivery fee. After that, we plan to charge about $5. There is no markup on the gas price. We fill our tanks from a "Shell" or "76" gas station and use the average price.

Gustomaximus• 11 years ago

Really interesting and unique concept. At first I went 'why', but then thinking about it I thought 'why not'. Personally I'd consider using it. My comments/thoughts.

- I couldn't see a diesel vs. petrol option. This would be important in Europe but not sure about the US.

- How do you access my fuel? If I do this I don't want to have to come our and unlock my fuel cap.

- Is the service quiet? I can leave my car in the driveway/kerb but I don't want some roaring truck at 6am outside my house.

- Price would need to be competitive though I'd happily pay a reasonable premium -say 5-10c per litre.

- What services could you bolt on? In the same way petrol stations make their money from the in store shopping, could you compete on petrol price by using it as a loss leader type offer? E.g. Car wash, air fresher etc

elwell4• 11 years ago

Thanks for your feedback/ideas.

- We currently offer 87 and 91 octane, and only in West Los Angeles (but of course we hope to expand rapidly)

- When you send a request we remind you to make sure the fueling door is unlocked. When that is done is the customer's choice.

- The service is very quiet. We don't have loud trucks. Our model is similar to Uber's in that anyone with a car can apply to work with us as a courier. They use their own car and transport fuel with 5-gallon tanks in their trunks. That might sound silly, but it seems to work well so far.

- Currently free delivery, but we intend to charge about $5 per delivery

- Yes, we have plans for additional services that can be added on.

greenyoda• 11 years ago

You might want to check whether transportation of gasoline this way for commercial purposes is legal under local, state and federal law. Transporting flammable liquids sounds like a kind of activity that would be licensed and regulated.

Andrewbass• 11 years ago

Reminded me of "Nosotros los Nobles"

drglitch• 11 years ago

In a densely populated area such as West LA there is a gas station every half mile - what is the use case for this except "oh crap, I didn't fill up and I don't have 10 min in morning to get gas".

An average tank size is circa 16-18 gal - so a courier would literally do a single trip to station per car?

How will you deal with gas tanks that lock with the car, ie BMW, MB, Audi?

5$/fill up works out to .30c per gallon premium over regular fillup on an average tank - which is quite high. If the service is not done by a fuel truck, but an amateur worker, what kind of insurance do you carry for when they accidentally put gasoline into my diesel car?

Lastly, from logistics side, how does a human know when to stop filling the car so as not to overfill the tank? Listening for the funny 'oh shit it's about to start spluttering out of the tank!' noise?

Edit: found it - check 'materials of trade' in 49CFR - you cannot transport more than about 120gal (in 8gal containers max) without a CDL or hazmat designation.

The only way this can be economical is if you don't run to gas station after servicing each car? Or is there a big part of economics here that I don't see? Even buying gas at wholesale but selling at retail plus service fee, I don't see this being scalable while also paying above minimum wage to the gas mules.

elwell4• 11 years ago

Thanks for your feedback.

In a densely populated area such as West LA there is a gas station every half mile - what is the use case for this except "oh crap, I didn't fill up and I don't have 10 min in morning to get gas".

We are viewing it as an convenience / luxury service.

An average tank size is circa 16-18 gal - so a courier would literally do a single trip to station per car?

Couriers carry 6 x 5 gallon containers.

How will you deal with gas tanks that lock with the car, ie BMW, MB, Audi?

When you send a request we remind you to make sure the fueling door is unlocked. When that is done is the customer's choice.

Lastly, from logistics side, how does a human know when to stop filling the car so as not to overfill the tank? Listening for the funny 'oh shit it's about to start spluttering out of the tank!' noise?

The pump we use automatically shuts off like at the gas station.

Show HN: Purple Services – On-demand gas delivery right to your car

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