Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has been rolling out diesel doorstep delivery service across various cities in India and also announced last month that it would have the service available at 25 percent of its fuel stations. An integral part of this service’s efficiency is Humsafar India, a Delhi-based startup that facilitates the delivery of diesel in 20-litre jerry cans to the customers’ doorstep. To know more, we got in touch with Sanya Goel, Co-founder, Humsafar.
What is the concept behind the home delivery of diesel? (who is the service most suitable for, how much does the customer pay per litre, are there any additional charges, how are the cans reused)
Home delivery of diesel is intended to take fuel to customer consumption point rather than customer reaching petrol pump to pick up. It solves customer’s pain point while reducing need for more petrol pumps, reducing road traffic etc. Currently, sector is opened for Diesel and CNG. Diesel currently is permitted for Stationery equipment and Heavy Industry as it is a new sector and many lessons to be learnt.
Currently, the customer is charged the same price for Diesel when delivered by Bowser, as is applicable at the petrol pump. However, recently we also started with our delivery of 20 litre Jerry Can service for this there is a charge of Rupees 50 per jerry can for delivery.
The company has fabricated approximately 300 bowsers and these are distributed all over the country. It is endeavoured that these dealers/partners take benefit of our unique Bowser+ service. The service is also available to agricultural equipment users or for establishments such as group housing societies that use diesel gensets for power backup services.
The prospected customers such as the housing society need to download the app and check service availability by putting in their PIN code. If the service is available then the standard delivery charge is Rupees 50 per jerry can even if the delivery location is 5 or 10 km away from the petrol pump. The 50 rupees charge is nominal considering the ease of doorstep delivery which eliminates the need for someone to personally travel to the petrol pump and procure the fuel. Also, once the can is emptied, the customers can hand it back to Humsafar for refuelling.
Also read: 25 percent BPCL fuel pumps to offer doorstep delivery of diesel in Delhi
What type of establishments does Humsafar attract most orders from?
Humsafar primarily attracts orders from Industrial customers including factories, project sites, banquets, hospitals and agriculturists. The service is affordable, safe and streamlined and these non-retail users are the core customers of Humsafar. In fact, Door Delivery service is a result of the demand for ease of service that customer was looking for specially at Petrol pumps, with more clients getting used to the convenience of shopping through platforms like Flipkart /Amazon etc. this was definitely the way to go. Going forward, we believe Door Delivery would become an integral part of the ecosystem due to logistical conveniences involved, as compared to the current Tankers coming to petrol pump for picking up its supplies from the Oil Terminal.
How do you ensure safety and avoid wastage? What vehicles does Humsafar use for delivery?
Diesel Door Delivery is governed by PESO protocol. Therefore, specs of a Bowser and its filling at a petrol pump, its parking and delivery are all mandated as per PESO specified protocols. To that extent, it is a safe practice as safe as running a petrol pump. Further, PESO mandates Geo fenced delivery. The practice eliminates/reduces manpower requirement, spillage, unsafe transportation and storage and reduces inventory carrying costs. So technically, it enhances efficiency to another level.
What are the expansion plans for the Humsafar service and app?
Humsafar started its services from the NCR region including Delhi, and parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan. Since then, it has made approx. 300 partners across states. Of these, 92 partners are actively using Humsafar App and these numbers continue to grow. We believe, that these numbers and pin codes would grow exponentially due to the strength of our unique ‘Bowser+’ programme and our challenge currently is to grow internal resources accordingly. Besides, Tech platform is an ever-evolving phase. We are strengthening our Tech vertical a lot and a great deal of focus would be to create a vibrant seamless marketplace.
Will we soon see Humsafar expand into other types of fuel?
Our Vision is to provide last-mile connectivity in Fuel space. Therefore, it is logical to get into other fuels as Govt of India keeps opening up the space. Therefore, CNG delivery having been opened by Govt was the next logical step. We also believe that Diesel Door Delivery would be further opened up for other sectors too in the coming future. This would increase the market potential exponentially. We also look forward to petrol Door Delivery in the next 2 to 5 years given the scarcity of land in Urban areas.
Is EV charging a field you’re looking into (as charging stations or providing batteries for EVs that support swappable ones)?
As EVs come in, we would surely explore Battery charging/replacement area. We strongly believe that it is logical to look at EV charging / battery space and its delivery. Going forward we are definitely exploring and finding creative solutions to make EV charging or battery delivery convenient and efficient.
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