3 ms·

Just did, check my comment above

deelowe 9y ago
There's a lot of speculation in your comment about things that are critical: The price they pay for gas and distribution costs.
- pdelbarba 9y ago
  Yea, based on the eia data it should all be ballpark but the calculation is there mostly just to serve as an example. You could shave a little off gas-per-fillup in retrospect because very few people will use 15gal exactly and few new car gas tanks are over 15gal but the $3 service charge balances that out somewhat. Based on the map on their site, it looks like their margins might be slimmer than what I calculated but they succeed by having a lot of customers in a very small area that they serve.
usrusr 9y ago
I don't think that "(no idea what the margin is)" is what OP meant by running the numbers. Mostly a "pamper early adopters with VC money" operation I think, possibly with a profitability story (that may or may not turn out to be realistic) centered around high real estate value areas: in those places where the ground occupied by a gas pump and its accompanying infrastructure plays a significant role in the local fuel price, using public rights of way for mobile pumps is effectively a value transfer from the public to the pump operator. Back during the original dotcom, when all anybody could think of was basically a mailorder shop with a website, I joked with friends how a "fuel.com" could be a great parody of contemporary startups and/or a fine participant in the hype wave. I still think that sending pickup trucks to fill individual cars is stupid, but it's leaps and bounds less stupid than "mailorder fuel" would have been. A nice illustration of the difference between the current breed of VC money sinks and the dotcoms of old.
- pdelbarba 9y ago
  I don't disagree at all. My numbers should be in the ballpark but generous. If someone has more data sources they can link to, fire away. I think the real takeaway here is that even at ~$400 per 25 cars refueled, it's not a super great market to be in. It's also kind of like starting a printing company during the 21st century (cough cough Vista Print). Yes, there's a sliver of margin to be had with aggressive automation and negotiation but at the end of the day, you'll be out of business in a couple decades when the underlying technology changes, in this case electric cars that can be charged at home.
  - icantdrive55 9y ago
    And there will be a service that plugs the car in. I have a feeling the future economy in America will be assisting the wealthy in some capacity. We're almost there? It's all cool until we're the ones plugging in Biff's Chevy? (Not in a good mood today. Crime on hn--I know. Probally a bad example. Even Biff could position his vechicle over an induction type charger build into the floor of the garage. "Oh no, Biff thinks the EMF's are affecting his health?" Hire a peon to park vechicle on my todo list? That's an app? I shouldn't even mention EMF. And no--I don't believe they cause problems. But then again not completely sure. Disregard this entire post. Just a bad mood.)
  - gambiting 9y ago
    On the other hand, it's likely that petrol stations will begin to close as electric cars become more and more widespread, but until literally no one uses petrol any more(and that will take a very long time) you can always make business by delivering fuel directly(Oh you have a 2010 vintage ICE car and the nearest operating petrol station is 50 miles away? we will bring fuel to you!)

There's a lot of speculation in your comment about things that are critical: The price they pay for gas and distribution costs.

pdelbarba 9y ago
Yea, based on the eia data it should all be ballpark but the calculation is there mostly just to serve as an example. You could shave a little off gas-per-fillup in retrospect because very few people will use 15gal exactly and few new car gas tanks are over 15gal but the $3 service charge balances that out somewhat. Based on the map on their site, it looks like their margins might be slimmer than what I calculated but they succeed by having a lot of customers in a very small area that they serve.

usrusr 9y ago

I don't think that "(no idea what the margin is)" is what OP meant by running the numbers. Mostly a "pamper early adopters with VC money" operation I think, possibly with a profitability story (that may or may not turn out to be realistic) centered around high real estate value areas: in those places where the ground occupied by a gas pump and its accompanying infrastructure plays a significant role in the local fuel price, using public rights of way for mobile pumps is effectively a value transfer from the public to the pump operator. Back during the original dotcom, when all anybody could think of was basically a mailorder shop with a website, I joked with friends how a "fuel.com" could be a great parody of contemporary startups and/or a fine participant in the hype wave. I still think that sending pickup trucks to fill individual cars is stupid, but it's leaps and bounds less stupid than "mailorder fuel" would have been. A nice illustration of the difference between the current breed of VC money sinks and the dotcoms of old.

pdelbarba 9y ago
I don't disagree at all. My numbers should be in the ballpark but generous. If someone has more data sources they can link to, fire away. I think the real takeaway here is that even at ~$400 per 25 cars refueled, it's not a super great market to be in. It's also kind of like starting a printing company during the 21st century (cough cough Vista Print). Yes, there's a sliver of margin to be had with aggressive automation and negotiation but at the end of the day, you'll be out of business in a couple decades when the underlying technology changes, in this case electric cars that can be charged at home.
- icantdrive55 9y ago
  And there will be a service that plugs the car in. I have a feeling the future economy in America will be assisting the wealthy in some capacity. We're almost there? It's all cool until we're the ones plugging in Biff's Chevy? (Not in a good mood today. Crime on hn--I know. Probally a bad example. Even Biff could position his vechicle over an induction type charger build into the floor of the garage. "Oh no, Biff thinks the EMF's are affecting his health?" Hire a peon to park vechicle on my todo list? That's an app? I shouldn't even mention EMF. And no--I don't believe they cause problems. But then again not completely sure. Disregard this entire post. Just a bad mood.)
- gambiting 9y ago
  On the other hand, it's likely that petrol stations will begin to close as electric cars become more and more widespread, but until literally no one uses petrol any more(and that will take a very long time) you can always make business by delivering fuel directly(Oh you have a 2010 vintage ICE car and the nearest operating petrol station is 50 miles away? we will bring fuel to you!)