Like Amazon, but for Gas

Jennifer Van Grove lets a bit of editorializing do the talking in reporting on the latest app to hit the streets in an effort to make driving easier:

"Even in an era when no errand is too small to outsource to a smartphone application, start-up Purple, which dispatches a stranger to fill up your gas tank, might smack as on-demand capitalism gone too far."

Purple works from an iPhone or Android app to request a "courier" to come to your car and add 10 or 15 gallons of gas to your tank via portable gas tanks. Van Grove adds:

"Your credit card is billed the going rate for gas, as advertised in the application, with rates comparable to what you might find at stations in your neighborhood. A service charge for the longer, three-hour delivery window is being waived for the time being. Your only task is to make sure your gas tank is accessible to Purple's people."

It will shock few people, perhaps, that the app is based in Los Angeles, recently expanding operations to San Diego. The article includes more detail on the market for the app, which is also summed up by this sound bite from Los Angeles resident Lania Bettin: "I live across the street from a gas station…but I don't always have time to make the stop."