As the ultimate essential for every Pakistani commuter, FuelUp has grossed over 800 downloads in 4 months. 95% of the people that have downloaded the app are returning users and they use the app everyday. Average time spent on the app is 5:45 seconds. Average time to fill up a sign up form is 35 seconds.
The app gives you up-to-date information about fuel prices and informs you of the latest price fluctuations in petrol, CNG, Diesel, Kerosene Oil, etc. With FuelUp, you can know for the first time in Pakistan if CNG is available in your city or not. The app also allows you to locate nearby fuel stations immediately. You can even customize the search based on your search radius.
Basit was driven by necessity that made him conceive the app. Over 3 million people use CNG as a primary fuel in their vehicles as of 2012, which would have surpassed 5 million in 2015. In Pakistan, CNG load shedding is more terrible than electricity. According to Basit, in electricity at least, you kind of know the schedule and can plan accordingly but when it comes to CNG, there are many factors in play, like production, distribution, and even policies. It was a need of the hour to have a centralized system to know at a glance if CNG was available in a city at any given moment. And Basit saw the need for it when he faced the same problem and saw people around him facing it.
He believes that software is the change agent of this century. He got into development to solve problems through software and he did just that with FuelUp. For those frequently travelling in cabs and rickshaws, this app is essential because now they can no longer be fooled by drivers who use excuses like the unavailability of CNG to hike up fares.
However, It is yet to be planned how FuelUp will actually generate revenue and thus attract investors. So when asked whether it was just a side project or a serious passion, Basit got pretty serious:
Definitely not a side project. It is a passion. It is a result of intense passion, countless nights spent in writing code, and crates of Red Bull purchased. And I look forward to countless sleepless nights in the future as well.
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