Bringing the Gas Station to You: The Rise in Mobile Fueling for Fleets

The world is becoming increasingly on demand — just look at rideshare apps and restaurant and grocery deliverers that are seeing year-over-year growth — and fleets are no exception. For those who value convenience, a mobile fuel delivery service is one way to save time and expenses.

To learn more about the growing trend, Automotive Fleet talked to EzFill, a mobile fuel delivery provider in Florida.

How Fuel Deliveries Work & Primary Benefits

Mobile fueling services can serve both traditional gasoline or diesel vehicles, and deliveries can fill on-site tanks or directly fuel vehicles at homes or on a work site.

Some of the main benefits for commercial fleets using mobile fueling services are:

• Increased route capacity.
• Reduced vehicle and driver downtime.
• Lowered emissions through centralized fueling.
• Eliminated need for fleet fuel card programs.
• Lowered chance of fraud by shifting liability to the fuel provider.
• No need for tanks or fuel infrastructure on site.

“Imagine a fleet of 500 vehicles,” Mike McConnell, EzFill CEO, said. “If you could eliminate 500 individual trips to the gas station, from an emissions point of view, that’s a positive.”

McConnell said most fueling happens at night after drivers have completed their routes, so by morning everyone is ready to go without needing to plan a trip to manually fuel up.

Pricing for the service is competitive with gas stations, and a custom quote can be provided based on the size of the fleet, gallons required, and frequency needed.

Its own delivery vehicle holds about 1,200 gallons of fuel, and McConnell said it can fit even in tight residential spaces that some larger haulers can’t.

One misconception McConnell wants to break down is that mobile fueling is a luxury service. “While there is a small delivery fee, it’s not something that is unexpected like with other goods and services,” he said. “The convenience is worth every bit of the fee for peace of mind, safety, and all the other things that go along with it.”

Mike Lang, part owner and VP of operations at ATC Air, noted that before using the service his workers were taking up time at gas pumps that could’ve been spent on service calls.

“Hiring a mobile fueling partner is key to an efficient business plan,” he said. “We work around the clock on holidays and in extreme weather conditions, so having our fleet properly fueled is a necessity that allows our workers the ability to service clients quicker. In addition, you don’t have to deal with unpredictable pricing at gas stations.

Demand for the Service

With about 143 billion of gallons of fuel consumed annually in the U.S., McConnell said the demand for mobile fueling is definitely there, and the opportunities expansive.

“Using an on-demand platform is a perfect marriage between what is becoming a preferred way for consumers to do business and how they utilize everyday purchases like fuel,” he said. “We’re estimating basically 100% growth with on-demand mobile fueling.”

McConnell added that even though gas prices are high, the company has not seen a reduction in demand.

Expansion Plans & Other Providers

EzFill caters to three verticals: consumer, commercial, and specialty, with 80% of its business coming from fleets.

The company went public in September 2021, and in just under seven months, secured 15 new accounts. This past March, it acquired another Florida-based mobile fuel company, Full Service Fueling Inc. Other clients announced in the last few months include rental company Buggy, ServPro of Brickell, ServPro of North Miami, nexAir, seafood delivery company Patagonian Sea Products, Chef Nissen Catering, 911 Restoration of Miami, Cool Air USA, Monsignor Edward Pace High School, and Floridian Clinical Research. It hopes to continue its expansion in Florida and enter New York.

EzFill also offers a fleet technology portal, which is 99% paperless, and monitors fueling and tracks maintenance. While it currently is primarily a fuel monitoring portal, McConnell said the company has its eyes set on expanding its abilities. “As we grow and we add more value, we'll be able to add more to this portal, depending on what our customers want,” he said. “Amazingly, a lot of them don't know how much each vehicle is actually using; they just know whether they're full or not. So we’re able to give data as far as what’s actually helping from a per unit basis from a revenue perspective.”

Other fuel delivery companies that work with fleets include Booster and Yoshi, the latter of which recently partnered with Bridgestone for concierge-style car care services. McConnell added that while the list of providers is still pretty small, there is lots of room for growth in the space.

Do EVs Pose a Threat?

One of the most common questions McConnell fields is what will happen when there are more EVs in the market.

“Interestingly enough, gas stations have been on a downward trend for the last 20 years because there’s just a better use for the real estate that they sit on,” he said. “There are 121 million registered commercial vehicles on the road, about 276 million consumer vehicles on the road, and today, they still need servicing.”

However, as the shift continues to unfold, McConnell said he hopes to change along with that trend. In fact, EzFill’s founder Michael Farkas is also the CEO of Blink Charging. Thanks to the insight Farkas brings into the EV space, “there’s definitely opportunities on both sides to continue to grow, no matter what fuel source consumers use in the future,” McConnell said.