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Mobile gas delivery company drives into Austin

It's a task all of us face on a routine basis: a trek to the gas station.

It's a task all of us face on a routine basis: a trek to the gas station.

But now, Yoshi, a mobile gas delivery company, is trying to flip the script.

"Yoshi makes it so you never have to go to the gas station again," said Nick Alexander, one of the company's co-founders.

The Bay Area start-up has launched in San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Nashville, and now Austin.

"We just looked at where people were asking for it. So on our website, on our app, you can download it from wherever you are in the country. If we're not there yet, we say hey- hopefully we'll be in Austin soon. And Austin was just the longest list of people we had saying we want you in Austin," Alexander said.

The premise is simple: for a $20 a month subscription, the service comes to fill up your vehicle, while charging AAA-rates. It also includes complimentary tire checks and tire air fill-ups, with an option to purchase other services ranging from car washes to emergency roadside assistance.

After the first service, the Yoshi driver will be able to open and close the gas tank directly using a device, so drivers won't need to be present.

While the app is used by many as one of convenience, Alexander said the idea was borne of safety concerns.

"One of our friends at one point was held up at a gas station. And it was a traumatic experience and the worst part was he had to go to that gas station again the next week, cause there were just no other options," Alexander explained.

He added the app also reduces strain on the environment compared to the typical gas station.

"So most gas stations have a 30,000-gallon underground tank to store the gas. That takes a lot to inspect, permit. And every year - some around the country leak. And when that happens, it's a real environmental disaster for everyone 2-3 miles from the gas station," said Alexander, who left his job at Google to start Yoshi.

To help combat those leak issues, the EPA enforced stricter storage regulations in 2015. It represented the first major revisions to those regulations since 1988.

Alexander did not offer specifics on the number of drivers the company employees, but said they employee "a lot of drivers" in their existing markets.

Currently, the service is offered solely within Austin city limits, though Alexander said they have plans to expand to surrounding areas.

Yoshi is offering a first-month-free subscription to users.

The app can be downloaded on iTunes or Google Play.

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