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Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

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Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#231

Post by ehnto »

macandcheese wrote: post #47

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.

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.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#232

Post by ehnto »

op00to wrote: post #222
ams6110 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was little you pulled into the gas station, and a teenage kid sprinted from the garage, pumped your gas, washed your windows, and checked your oil, took your payment, and you never had to leave your seat.

The past is the present in the great state of New Jersey. Though it's usually a gentleman of indeterminate Asian origin instead of a pimply faced teen. I love not pumping my own gas.

In a few states it's due to regulation rather than good service. If customers are setting your gas station on fire too often, maybe having a staff member do the pumping makes sense.

Darn customers, always with the fire.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#233

Post by ehnto »

hkmurakami wrote: post #197
TillE wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yoshi is an actual Japanese name.

It's only part of a name. Examples of a "full" name including Yoshi: Yoshida, Yoshinori, Yoshiko, Yoshimoto, etc.

Still, I can't trademark Ben, part of Benjamin.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#234

Post by kamaal »

thedufer wrote: post #219
kamaal wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>If I could pay someone to actually handle all the boring mundane stuff for me just so I could have an extra hour a day to play video games, I'd do it. Sure, makes perfect sense for anything that goes beyond >1hr a day. But lets do the math here. Lets say some one charge $15-$20 per hour do your chores(Going by the minimum+ wage). For two hours you are now looking at $450-$600/month expenses for that. If you can aff…

> $450-$600/month expenses To be fair, this is probably a trade-off people in SF are already making. I know I am in NYC - if I was willing to spend an extra hour/day commuting (and that's only weekday, of course), I could easily save $500/month or more on rent.

Lets do some more math. Lets fix that figure to something like $600/month. That is $7200/year. Over a decade that is $72,000.

Say if you started when you were 21. By the time you are 46- just the savings would be $180,000. Progressively invest that in a good fund. That could mean a home right there or a 401k equivalent, Just on your travel expenses. To me, that's a decent nest egg.

I don't believe the parent poster was serious when he said he'd like to spend it all because he refused to believe he would be alive in a few decades. In most cases the person would generally be alive, live long, and be poor in old age. What follows next is blaming government, youngsters, immigrants, bankers and what not for your predicament while very clearly it was your choices at work all the time.

Now don't tell me spending extra time on commute is hard. Obviously it is, you don't get to an extra 401k by 46 by walking in the park.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#235

Post by [deleted] »

danhak wrote: post #3

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…

[deleted]

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#236

Post by chucksmash »

If you aren't marking up the gas then the operating costs and profits must (eventually) come from the $15/mo, correct?

So does this work similarly to the gym business model (i.e. over-subscribe the service with the assumption that some portion of subscribers won't use it very often and will subsidize the heavy users)? The requirement to plan ahead instead of offering on-demand delivery seems like it might encourage that dynamic ("Crap, I'm nearly out of gas and forgot to put in my Yoshi order. I'll just fill it myself this time").

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#237

Post by noer »

SilasX wrote: post #187
sedachv wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Furthermore, Uber solved a problem in a market with inefficiencies and use regulation arbitrage to do it. What is "regulation arbitrage?"

Profiting from legal loopholes[1], esp where two things accomplish the same goal, but one of them is more vigorously enforced/regulated than the other. In this case, both taxis and limo/livery services[2] provide the same good -- "rides to somewhere" -- but taxis are more regulated in terms of rate, driver training, equipment, and how many can be active (medallion limits). Limo/livery services (or something passed of…

I think [2] is the regulation arbitrage/loophole. In many places those cars must still be licensed & regulated. It's more than just the driver/ booking service keeping a log.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#238

Post by camel_gopher »

technofiend wrote: post #27
danhak wrote: post #3

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…

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.

$15/month on top of gas fees? Not interested. Without the monthly fee though, very interested. There's almost always a wait for gas stations when I go, so this service makes sense.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#239

Post by SilasX »

noer wrote: post #237
SilasX wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Profiting from legal loopholes[1], esp where two things accomplish the same goal, but one of them is more vigorously enforced/regulated than the other. In this case, both taxis and limo/livery services[2] provide the same good -- "rides to somewhere" -- but taxis are more regulated in terms of rate, driver training, equipment, and how many can be active (medallion limits). Limo/livery services (or something passed of…

I think [2] is the regulation arbitrage/loophole. In many places those cars must still be licensed & regulated. It's more than just the driver/ booking service keeping a log.

Regulatory arbitrage includes differentials in enforcement, which I think is true here: even when a limo needs a license, you can operate a lot longer before anyone bothers to do anything.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#240

Post by syedkarim »

rconti wrote: post #58
nostromo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine it's quite a bit more than $15 a month. They probably bake some healthy margins into the price of gas.

I had never heard of this kind of service until a couple of weeks ago when I saw a Booster fuels truck. The advertised prices on the truck were a good 20 cents/gallon lower than the Chevron across the street from where it was parked. OTOH, I don't know if they use top tier fuels with whatever detergent packages or if it's Arco-quality gas, or what.

There's no such thing as top tier fuel. Gas is bought off the spot market, just like orange juice. The quality of Arco's product on any given day could be identical to that of Chevron/Shell/more-expensive-name-brand.
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