Wow, remind me who NOT to vote for in the next election!

***********
"Legislating a company company out of business doesn't seem like the right approach, especially one with a clear safety record," Rosenberg explained. "The letter of the law for this company doesn't seem suitable yet."
***********

Let's see, they are driving around our city with 2-4 110-gallon tanks. I wouldn't expect there to be an issue very often, but drive enough miles and there's going to be a major accident. If you don't understand that 440 gallons of gas is enough to fuel a catastrophic accident, you don't deserve to be major of a city.

Thank you, Fire Chief Juan Diaz for speaking clearly!

Let me get this straight. It is okay for someone whose job is landscaping or construction to haul around 110-gallon fuel tanks. But it is not okay for someone whose job is refueling vehicles to haul around 110-gallon fuel tanks. Is that correct?

This is disappointing. How many people have cans of gas in their yards and garages, spilling it on occasion when they fill the lawn mower or car? It should be noted that there are far fewer gas spills in Oregon and NJ where they don't allow Self Serve like in California.

People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything. Thomas Sowell

I recommend watching the Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode called "The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis". They tried the same business model with hilarious results.

I'm pretty sure the free market will put these guys out of business long before any regulation. Talk about a solution in search of a problem!

@ Darin

***************
He noted that his trucks operated under a fire-code exemption allowing landscaping and construction contractors to lug 110-gallon tanks to work sites.
***************

Yes, there's a difference between an occasional trip to a job-site to deliver a tank and a business which calls for trucks with 2-4 tanks to drive through our neighborhood every day.

The whole business concept is worthy of a Darwin Award. What comes next, how to "rewire" your home using extension cords?

How is this service significantly better than stopping for gas while you are out and about?

It's AAA with a little more gas. You don't have to wait in endless lines like Safeway. The prices are competitive. It's better to have a professional fill your tank than someone standing next to you smoking at the corner gas station while you are trying to fill up your tank.

The continued hand wringing is hilarious. It's one less future super site with underground tanks to worry about.

Nice try Mr or Mrs. PR representative. Endless lines at the gas stations in Mountain View? Are you living in an alternate universe?

If the prices are competitive that's because they're burning through VC money and will be out of business soon when they have to raise prices.

I think we can all take our chances without a "tank filling professional".

I have to say thank goodness the City has said no to something! We can only hope that in the future, they will say no more often! No to developers, no to Google, no, no, no. Please, just say no!

I have to say thank goodness the City has said no to something! There are a million delivery trucks everywhere all the time. There isn't any reason to have dangerous mobile gas bombs in residential areas.

We can only hope that in the future, they will say no more often! No to developers, no to Google, no, no, no. Please, just say no!

If gas stations want to compete with this service perhaps they could offer to pump gas for you for a small fee ($3 ?).

I think we should keep all those corner gas stations with buried storage tanks that sell beer and cigarettes to minors opened 24 hours per day. And.... Yellow Cabs are the future. Amazon delivering the same day....that's crazy talk.

Maybe Filld will just pull an Uber and ignore the law and keep doing what they are doing.

You know these startups are small because they can't afford better PR people.

Comparing Uber and Amazon to these mobile fueling "solutions in search of problems" is cute. Those companies have economies of scale, and even Uber is losing a lot of money.

You can only sell a dollar for 90 cents for so long before you go the way of Webvan and Kozmo.

Can we cite them for a ridiculous business idea? I'm a busy SV professional and time is precious, but the idea of paying for gas delivery is laughable at best...no actually, mock-able at best. Good lord, the idea pool has become quite shallow around these parts.

Hard to see anything associated with fossile fuels as our future. What's next? Residential Coal delivery as our grand parents used to do?

I'm really sorry that these guys are being put out of business.
We have used their service many times. It was wonderful.

I love FillD! I do long multi-day car trips and when departing in the early AM, it saves me a lot of precious time to have someone come to my home the night before and do a fill-up. Lots of other similar scenarios. Funny to hear all the negative comments from people who never tried the service.

Shame on MV for stifling innovation. There is a state law coming that would address this for everyone.

I'm another happy Filld user. They were always running promotions and codes, so it was actually CHEAPER to have them come to my house in the middle of the night and fill all our cars (they only charge the delivery fee for the first car). Not only did it save money, but it saved time. And to be totally honest, I really hate pumping gas. I thought the business was rather innovative. I'm sorry to see them have to leave.

I like the concept and I almost signed up for the service until I read their Limitation of Liability statement that explicitly states that they're not liable for any gasoline spillage or for any damage to your car or property. It also goes to say that their insurance should not be used as a primary means to claim any damages caused by them.

I see gas spills all the time at gas stations. If they spill gas on my driveway or sidewalk, their say that they're not liable. No thank you. At least there's a 30 day period to opt-out of the binding arbitration. I'm not against them operating, but they've got to have decent safety measures and put it in writing that they will take responsibility in case of an accident.

@askme

Thanks for raising the legal/insurance issues (found here: Web Link

It's probably even worse if a neighbor's property (home, car...) gets damaged.

If they damage or pollute(spill gas) on your property, the customer who paid for the service is liable, not the company. Note that if you see your neighbors using them. Remember that gasoline is highly toxic and stays in the soil for a very very long time. You will need to pay for hazardous waste removal and pay for the disposal of the tainted soil if liable.

I would never put myself at such legal risk when the "problem" of putting gas in my car simply does not exist. In fact it's far more convenient for me to do it when I have that 5 minute window and I'm passing by one of the dozens of stations all over everywhere. I don't have to think or schedule or anything. I just take 5 mins and conveniently gas up (without putting myself at legal risk). I have enough scheduling to worry about. I'm not trading an easy "no-brainer" for yet another scheduling task. You just know they'll have a glitch and miss an appointment when you need them most too...it's Murphy's law. Best to be in charge yourself and not at legal risk.
I guess if I lived in a rural area I might consider it, but it simply makes zero sense to do it otherwise.

I am not surprised to see yet another micromanaging decision handed down. I wonder now if people using AAA in Mountain View will now have to have their cars towed to a gas station and filled up there, rather than risk having a single drop of the dirty, nasty, toxic, anti-earth fossil fuel spilled on the ground?

Of course, I know that someone will attack me for being in favor of polluting the planet, because that is a favorite line of attack for those who don't want to have a serious discussion about issues. However, according to this article, the business has a perfect safety record and no spillage. It seems to me that their service is safer than say, using mercury filled light bulbs throughout your entire house!

I also found the comment about the service being akin to mobile-gas bombs very entertaining. Hyperbole can be very effective and I sometimes use it myself when trying to make a point. I will just point out though that I don't think the employees are looking to martyr themselves; and as trained professionals, I think they'd actually be much more likely to be extremely careful than your average person filling up at the local gas station (although I have never seen people smoking while filling up as someone mentioned above).

I am happy to see that so many people are vehemently against fossil fuels though; it means that they will all be getting out of their cars and relying almost solely on public transportation like I do, right?



Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

I no longer have coal delivered to my home. I no longer want to see a gas station on every corner. I don't need cigarettes, candy bars or potatoes chips. My first plan is to have gas delivered to me. My second plan is to plug in. My third plan is Headless Uber's. Gas stations will disappear. Just a matter of time.

Who in their right mind wants to have gasoline trucks driving around our neighborhoods pumping gas into our neighbors' cars? That is downright hazardous and not suited for residential hoods. Gasoline storage and pumping belongs at gasoline stations in oommercially-zoned areas and not in any of our residential hoods. When it comes to containing hazardous substances, safety is far more important than convenience --- and gasoline is quite hazardous.

Landscapers are all over MV every single day with gas leaf blowers. Cans of gas in the back of the truck are used to refill. Think there aren't spills? Think some of these guys aren't smoking a cig while refueling.

Contrast that to an organized company that is dedicated to pumping gas safely and efficiently. Want to pass a law? Ban the cancer-causing leafblowers!

If 400 gallons of gas in the back of a truck is unsafe, who's to say that 16 gallons in your tank is OK? I can light up a barbecue with much less than that.

Way to go, Mountain View.

Let's kill any small business that tries to start here. It's very important that the only people you pay any attention to be those who work for Google and their minions.

Bravo.

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?