ExxonMobil backed gas delivery startup Yoshi growing across US

Yoshi

• A startup called Yoshi delivers gas to people’s cars
  for a monthly fee of $20.
• Yoshi, which is competing with several companies
  billing themselves as the “Uber for gas,” has been backed by
  ExxonMobil and General Motors.
• It currently operates in 16 cities, including Chicago,
  Los Angeles, and Boston.
• Customers can also use Yoshi for oil changes, tire
  service, and more.

A growing number of startups calling themselves “Uber for gas”
are offering an alternative for people who believe that gas
stations are too inconvenient.

The companies are also trying to fill an emerging deficiency in
gas availability: According
to the National Association of Convenience Stores, the number
of retail fueling sites nationwide has gone down by 25% from 1994
to 2015. 

Among these startups, Yoshi stands out as a
frontrunner. The company has expanded from three cities to 16 in
the past year, raising more than $15 million in funding —
including support from ExxonMobil
and General Motors Ventures. Yoshi hasn’t revealed how
many people have signed up for the service,
according to the Washington Post, but it currently delivers
gas in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, and other US
cities.

Yoshi’s fuel comes from ExxonMobil, and customers pay a $20
monthly fee for delivery. The startup also offers services like
oil changes and wiper blade swaps, and customers get per gallon
discounts on their gas if they choose these add-ons.

Customers can schedule these services and communicate with “field
technicians” who complete them through an app, available on

Apple and
Android.

The startup asks customers to leave their fuel door ajar, but
drivers do not need to be present while Yoshi employees work on
their car. Yoshi can also install a magnetic fuel vault in
compatible cars, making it possible to complete a fill-up without
customers having to leave the fuel door open.

Yoshi’s app.
Yoshi

In addition to Yoshi, several other gas delivery startups are
trying to expand their reach. Silicon Valley-based Filld delivers fuel to customers in the
Bay Area and Seattle, and Booster Fuels says its
service is safe and more eco-friendly than traditional gas
stations.

As these companies gain more followers, some fire marshals and
fire department officials have expressed concerns about
startups transporting large amounts of a flammable liquid on the
back of a pickup truck.

“Some of the [companies] are using 1,000-gallon tanks,” Greg
Andersen, a division chief in the state fire marshal’s office in
California,
told The Guardian. “If they’re going into the basement
parking lot of a high rise, that actually is a large concern.”

Yoshi sometimes delivers gas to parking lots and high-rises, but
the startup says its fuel tanks are certified by the US
Department of Transportation and adhere to local laws, according
to the Post.

The startup has not experienced any gas spill accidents since
launching in 2015, and Yoshi intends to begin delivering gas to
nine more cities by the end of the year. According to its
website, people can save 33 hours and $240 a year by using it.