Mindy Lewis was with her family when she filled her Lexus SUV with gas on Monday. But she wasn't at a gas station; she was at Balboa Park. Mindy used a new phone app named Purple, which sends drivers to your car with 30 gallons of regular or premium gas.
"I have two kids and let me tell you they get restless in the car those 10 or 15 minutes it takes to fill up my gas tank," said Lewis.
The gas costs $2.99 a gallon for premium, which is the average price in San Diego. The man who delivered the fuel arrived in less than an hour and filled her tank in about 10 minutes.
"It's not just for emergencies," said Purple co-founder Bruno Uzzan. "It's really for anyone who needs gas."
Uzzan started Purple in Los Angeles earlier this year. This month they started delivering to San Diego.
He said most of their deliveries are to people's homes and many are at night. The company does not charge an extra fee for deliveries up to three hours; deliveries under one hour are charged a dollar. So is using the new gas app?
"I would say 50-50 between women and men," said Uzzan. "We see some luxury cars, some non-luxury, so it's for everybody."
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Purple drivers arrive with the fuel in five-gallon portable tanks. Customers are limited to under 30 gallons to meet safety regulations, and they must order at least 10 or 15 gallons of regular or premium gas.
Customers sign up, order and pay through the phone app, which works for both Apple and Android phones.
Mindy said she's sold on the idea.
"If their price is competitive, I would do it in a heartbeat," she said.
