Sign in to view
member only content

London drivers bemoaning the time spent waiting in line at the petrol station need complain no longer. Startup Zebra Fuel is now providing pre-booked refuelling slots for personal and commercial vehicles. The company recently raised USD 2.5 million in seed funding. It plans to expand into other European cities as well as expand the types of fuel it offers. At launch, Zebra Fuel provides drivers with diesel refills only. The company’s founders are working with UK regulators in order to be able to deliver petrol in the very near future.

Contrary to many peoples’ first assumptions, refuelling a car parked near the owner’s home or office is no more expensive than driving to a nearby petrol station. The company prides itself on offering comparable and competitive pricing. Zebra Fuel does not have to pay rent and refuels its delivery vans from a central location. This enables it to keep operating costs fairly low and still hire and pay employees as full time staff. The Zebra Fuel team is keen to point out that their staff members have full training and are paid employees.

Users can make a booking via the accompanying iOS app. Car owners must leave their car’s fuel cap off or loosened.  Zebra Fuel can then refuel a vehicle at any time that is convenient for the car owner. Many businesses use this option to refuel commercial fleets of vehicles overnight. The Zebra Fuel team says that the new delivery service should help to reduce emissions as well as city congestion and will be expanding further across London throughout 2018.

Innovation in personal and public transport is wide-ranging, including retrofitting vehicles to make them partially autonomous, luxury car rental subscription services and new, more sustainable types of fuel. What other services could outsource to homes to perform time consuming chores more efficiently?