Driving a car will inevitably lead you to require refuelling. Sometimes, you may forget to fuel up your car and leave you stranded in the middle of the highway with no more petrol. But now, there are new startups in the US which aim to help you forgo the need to even stop at a petrol station... by helping you fill up your car wherever you are parked.

There have been a few startup companies in the US who are doing the same thing; WeFuel, GasMob, GasBuddy, Filld, GasNinjas, FuelMe, and Yoshi are among some of the names which come to mind.

How it works is simple; all you have to do is download the app, type in the location of your car and request for your car to be refuelled. It’s almost as easy as ordering delivery! Within about half an hour, the company’s truck drives up, opens up your gas tank and refuels your car with regular or premium unleaded petrol.

Of course, the service comes with a cost, on top of what you’re paying for petrol. Each of the companies offers the service at around US$ 7 (around RM30) per refill. But some companies, like WeFuel, are planning to offer monthly subscription services for unlimited refills for about US$19.99 (about RM84), plus the cost of petrol.

These startups are starting out small, mostly operating in one single city to see how well the response is. Most are priming around the Silicon Valley area, or where all the tech-savvy people live in, and customers who are more willing to spend the US$7 per refill cost than taking the time (and minor hassle) of stopping by a petrol station.

But how will a petrol delivery service make sense in today’s world? By offering convenience and the offer of saving time. It’s not about saving money, it’s saving time that’s pulling people in. These startup companies realized that there are customers who were willing to pay the surcharge for convenience.

"The average commuter fills up about twice a week, 15 minutes give or take on each fill-up," explained GasMob's Brannon Thompson. "That equates to about 26 hours every single year that you spend at a gas station."

So what these companies are offering is petrol on-demand, that uses your time more efficiently. Instead of needing to stop by a petrol station on the way to work or before the long jam home, your car can be refuelled while it’s in the parking lot; since it’s already there for most of the day anyways. While the service fee may be a bit too steep, these startups believe that eventually people will always go for convenience, just like Uber, Foodpanda and all the other convenience apps we couldn’t live without.

What do you think? Do you think this model is viable in Malaysia and if it was, would you give it a go? Leave a comment below!