The Challenges Of Running A Scooter Sharing Business
Scooter sharing app development has drastically increased in popularity over the past few years. And that is for a good reason. After all, it’s a good alternative to traditional commuting. You no longer have to worry about getting late for work or deal with overcrowded buses and trams. Now, you can simply hop on an e-scooter and whiz past traffic like there’s no tomorrow. And hey, you can have some fun while at it as well. Not to mention the fact the e-scooters are eco-friendly too.
It almost seems like you can rent an e-scooter in pretty much any city around the globe, be it through apps such as Lime, Bird, Spin, etc.
With that being said, you might think that the e-scooter business is failing proof. However, you’re wrong. There are actually quite a few challenges that an e-scooter has to deal with. So, let’s take a look at some of them.
- The Infrastructure
The infrastructure of some cities simply doesn’t work for this type of business. First off, the lack of charging stations is going to cause problems. There are actually not that many cities out there that have the proper infrastructure to charge electric vehicles.
Not only that, but you also need to take safety into consideration. This is another problem that regards infrastructure. You wouldn’t want to run an e-scooter business in a city where you can not actually ride them safely.
- The Business Is Seasonal
Another factor that drags this business model down is that it just doesn’t work all year round. During the cold season, you’ll most probably notice a heavy decline in demand, therefore losing revenue.
People would much rather prefer commuting by car, bus, or metro during this period of time. Not to mention the fact that on most e-scooters, the range of the batteries would drop down quite significantly, due to the low temperatures.
- Getting Permission
Another obstacle that might shut down your business right from the start is that of obtaining permission from the cities you want to operate in. They are the ones who actually chose which companies operate within the city and how many scooters they can work with.
- The Customers Themselves
Just like with any other business, the customers themselves will become a challenge at one point or another, especially within the rental and ride-sharing industry. Since the vehicles they use are not owned by them, you can expect a fair bit of trouble here and there.
Driving recklessly, damaging your scooters, parking them all over the place, stealing them, and even putting their own safety at risk are things you’ll need to watch out for.
- The Competition
And finally, there’s the competition. If you managed to get a permit to operate in a certain city, there will most likely be another company that’s already doing the same thing as you. In fact, in this industry bigger companies usually buy out the smaller ones in order to avoid competition. So you know it’s fierce.
