Personal E-Bikes for Hire: The Next Horizon of the Sharing Economy
When it comes to the modern sharing economy, one of the more recognizable brands in the industry is Uber, an on-demand ridesharing platform solution that connects those without vehicles to those who have vehicles within the immediate area. On the surface, this appears to be a near perfect system as Uber capitalizes on the under-utilized resources that are already within the environment rather than providing a service that requires them to source a fleet of vehicles on their own tab.
Need for On-demand Ridesharing App Platform using E-Bikes However, there is one major flaw, travel in the big city especially during rush hour does not easily accommodate large and cumbersome vehicles as roads are typically congested and underground trains do not offer a direct route in most cases. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that “during rush-hour, it is very inefficient for a one-ton hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks.�. Thus, in light of this, Uber is now making its move to incorporate electric bikes and scooters to its regime leveraging on-demand ridesharing app platform, paving the way for the next addition to the sharing economy with their mobility, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness leveraging on-demand ridesharing app solutions. To put it simply, personal E-Bikes for hire or ride/ bike sharing applications are going to be the next big thing when it comes to travel within the sharing economy.
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E-bikes Will Bring Mobility to the Travel Industry and the Sharing Economy Sometimes we get caught in a situation where the traffic is a too heavy drive, but our destination is just too far to walk, travel time not even considered. The obvious advantage to electric bikes and scooters here is that what they lack in the amount of power a car has, they make up for it with maneuverability that almost matches walking. This “best of both worlds� feature allows users to travel at a speed much faster than walking, using paths a car could never hope to fit through. The hope is that more people will take to the streets on one of these smaller vehicles, more efficiently bringing them to their destination, while freeing up some space on the road for the drivers still there.
E-bikes Will Bring Mobility to the Travel Industry and the Sharing Economy This hope is mostly rooted in a 2009 study done by the company ZipCar, where, according to CBC Radio, 250 “car addicts”, or people who used their car above any other mode of transportation, from various cities, gave up driving for a period of 30 days. This meant that they had to walk, bike, or use public transit. By the end of the study, 40% of the participants actually preferred the methods newly open to them and didn’t want to take up driving again. This was a revelation in that it showed that a large portion of people didn’t even want to own vehicles, and was more than willing to use other methods of travel.
How E-Bikes Address the Drawback of Fuel cost & Inefficiency Another painfully obvious drawback that cars possess, and what usually represents them on the market, is fuel economy. Fuel costs are reaching all-time highs, with no drops in sight, and so even when faced with only light traffic, every trip in a car can end up costing a pretty penny. This is where e-bikes and scooters come in, running purely on electricity and human power if necessary. Environmental benefits aside, not only does this eliminate the cost of fuel, but eliminates many of the time-consuming tasks associated with it, such as making a detour to the gas station and waiting for a free pump, using more fuel in the process.
How E-Bikes Address the Drawback of Fuel cost & Inefficiency E-bikes and scooters replace fuel levels with battery levels, batteries that are easily recharged via human intervention, which in turn eliminates much of the anxiety associated with running out of power mid-trip. In addition to this, travel becomes more direct, as e-bikes and scooters can travel through other pathways, such as going through a large park instead of having to traverse around it. Having a more direct route further cuts down on time spent traveling, and further improves on the amount of power used.
How E-Bikes Are More Cost-Effective in Large Cities Over other Vehicles Fuel costs aside, it is important to take note of not only travel costs but the overall cost-effectiveness of owning a given vehicle, car and scooter alike, versus using a given ride-share program. As stated by CBC Radio, on-demand ride booking app feature UberX already claims to be approximately 40% less expensive than taking a traditional taxi, and car ownership itself not only includes payments to own the car but costs of insurance and maintenance. Owning an e-bike or scooter still includes the same costs of ownership, in that both include payments to own them as well as the cost of maintaining them, although it is significantly less than owning a car.
How E-Bikes Are More Cost-Effective in Large Cities Over other Vehicles However, periodically renting for short periods of time eliminates a large source of the cost of ownership in the form of maintenance. Should the battery or motor start to fail, it no longer falls on your shoulders to pay for them, thus saving you even more money. Though no price has really been set for renting an e-bike or scooter, as the program is still in its infancy and still expanding, Khosrowshahi has stated that “bikes would bring in less revenue than cars,� indicating an inherently lower price range.
As the sharing economy continues to become ever more popular and larger in scale, vehicle ownership may begin to look much more like a luxury than a necessity. With the introduction of e-bike rental, commuters now have an even more convenient, efficient, and cost-effective method of traversing the city streets unhindered. If you have a similar idea and wish to leverage the market of on-demand ridesharing looking at the future opportunities, get in touch with our on-demand marketplace experts and get your unique ridesharing app.
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