Yoshi gas delivery company partners with Firestone
Nashville gas delivery startup Yoshi is taking its on-demand auto services to a new level. Partnering with locally headquartered Firestone, customers will be able to have their tires checked, inflated and replaced without leaving their home or office.
As part of the deal with Firestone, which is owned by Bridgestone Americas, Yoshi drivers are supplied with air pumps and they check tires and fill them as needed for free. If the tread shows it needs to be replaced, Yoshi alerts the drivers and connects them with Firestone Mobile Tire Installation, which sends its truck to the customer's car and eliminates the hassle of an auto shop visit. The tire replacement comes with a $80 fee, which is currently waived as a promotion.
The service is available to Nashville-area customers and complements Yoshi's app that allows car owners to avoid the gas station and get tanks filled where it is most convenient. The inflated tires will help boost gas mileage and improve safety, said Yoshi co-founder Bryan Frist.
Since launching last year in Nashville, Yoshi has expanded to Atlanta and is looking to Houston for further growth. Given Atlanta's heavy traffic and tech-friendly reputation, it was a logical next step, Frist said.
"Traffic is an issue," Frist said of Atlanta. "When people are going home from work, the last thing they want to do is stop."
Yoshi gas delivery launches in Nashville
Gas delivery startups have raised questions in recent weeks about meeting fire safety regulation in San Francisco. Frist said that competitors offer other methods for delivery — big tankers and small jerry cans — but Yoshi uses much smaller tanks. California officials have said given the weight and volume of the Yoshi tanks, the company is not violating any codes, he said.
"They said what we're doing, specifically what we are doing, not what the industry is doing, ... is 100 percent by the book," Frist said. "In terms of all the regulation, it's been stuff that since day one we've been focused on."
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.