Electric Scooter Dilemma: Pros & Cons of Renting vs. Owning
A lot of people think that it is cheaper and better to make use of rental scooters in big cities for their daily commute. Are they right? In this blog, we will give you the pros and cons if you were to rent or own e-scooters!
When You Are Done Reading This Article, You Will Know:
- All the pros and cons of renting or owning an e-scooter
- Why you should consider using an electric scooter
- What the perfect solution is for your situation!
Why Should You Consider Using an E-scooter
Before you can decide if it is better to rent or own e-scooters, you must know why you should consider using this mode of transportation. There is no doubt that rental scooters have become a part of every big city in Europe. However, it is not just a trend for tourists, these electric scooters help cities in some ways.
Sustainability
In big cities, people often work in giant buildings with hundreds of people simultaneously. If these people use cars to get from their homes to work, it would cause a lot of air pollution in these cities. By using electric scooters, you will reduce your carbon footprint by not emitting any exhaust fumes. This in combination with normal public transportation makes transport in urban locations more sustainable.
Time Efficient
People who are stuck in rush hour traffic can lose up to two hours a day by sitting in their car. By using a combination of public transportation and an electric scooter, you never have to worry about getting stuck in traffic.
Now you know why you should consider using an electric scooter, you have to figure out if it is better to rent or own e-scooters. But don’t worry, we have the answer for you right here. We will discuss the pros and cons of renting vs. owning e-scooters. We will start with renting e-scooters pros and cons.
Pros of Renting an E-scooter
Rental e-scooters have become a big part of inner-city mobility. In this part of the blog, we will be going over the pros of renting an electric scooter. Some advantages are:
Relatively Affordable
One of the biggest pros of the E-scooter is the price. It will cost you only €1 to unlock a rental scooter, and then you have to pay somewhere between 15 and 60 cents per minute to use it. Which makes it a lot more affordable than taxis or using your car, especially for short rides.
Available in Every Big City
Since electric scooters have been part of sustainability plans, they’re widely available in every country. Often you will find them standing in groups of 5 – 10 electric scooters. They also get parked in front of where people would start or stop using them, like the entrance of a metro station or bus station. This means that you probably won’t have to look far before finding one to rent for yourself.
Con’s of renting an E-scooter
Now that we have covered the pros of e-scooter rentals, we also have to give you some cons for you to think about.
Available to the Public
The rental scooters you find on the street are available to everyone. This mostly means that people don’t take as much care of them as they would if they were to own the scooter. This can result in uncomfortable rides or safety issues when you are renting this type of scooter. These scooters also don’t get checked or maintained regularly, making it difficult to know what type of scooter you are riding.
Expensive Over Time
When we gave you the pros of renting an electric scooter in this rent vs. own e-scooter blog, we told you that rental scooters are relatively affordable. A single ride can indeed be as cheap as €4. However, if you intend to use an electric scooter daily during your commute to work, the costs can pile up. Let’s say you take 2 rides of 5 minutes a day to go and come back from your work.
This means that your cheapest option costs €2 in unlocking fees and €1.5 in minute fees. €3.5 a day does not sound like much, but if you use it just for this trip and 5 days a week, it can cost up to €70 a month or €840 a year to get to work and back. Any trips above 5 minutes, or when you have to unlock different scooters because you use multiple forms of transportation, will increase your monthly cost of renting an e-scooter.
Pros of Owning an E-scooter
Now, that we have discussed the pros and cons of renting, we also have to discuss the pros and cons of owning an electric scooter in this rent vs. own e-scooter article. Some pros of owning an E-scooter are:
Availability 24/7
One of the biggest advantages of owning an electric scooter is that the scooter is always available to you. As soon as you leave your home or your workplace, you can immediately start riding your electric scooter. With rental scooters, you often have to use an app to find them and when you are done riding them you have to park them in a specific location. With owning an electric scooter, you can go from door to door, without a hassle. Since they’re light enough, you can easily carry them around on public transportation, and their compact size makes it easy to store them inside your home.
Almost Completely Free After Buying
After the initial cost of purchasing the electric scooter, you will be able to use it practically for free. The only cost that you will have is the maintenance and the cost of electricity to charge the battery.
Con’s of Owning an E-scooter
This rent vs. own e-scooter blog wouldn’t be complete without talking about the cons of owning an electric scooter. That is why we included the most important cons of owning an electric scooter.
Big-first time cost
The price of an electric scooter can vary from somewhere around €100 to somewhere around €2000. The price often indicates the quality of the product itself. A €100 scooter often is not very fast, reliable, or made from cheap materials, while an e-scooter in the €1500 price range will be built with the most durable materials, have the biggest battery capacity and the highest top speed
Maintenance
Since you own the electric scooter, you are fully responsible for the maintenance. This can get quite expensive, but it all depends on how you take care of it!
Rent or Own E-Scooters? What is More Convenient and Better For The Environment
The answer to the question “e-scooters rent or own?” depends on your personal situation. Are you planning on occasionally using an electric scooter? Then renting is the go-to option for you. Are you planning to use the scooter daily? Then it would be a good choice to invest in a quality e-scooter that will last you a lifetime.
Owning an electric scooter is also better for the environment since you have to take care of it yourself. The public rental scooters often get tossed in canals or rivers or are being destroyed, as an act of vandalism.
The Best of Both Worlds, Rent Your Personal E-Scooter at Äike!
If you are still on the fence about renting or owning an e-scooter, and if the initial cost of buying a high-quality e-scooter is holding you back, we have the perfect solution for you! At Äike, you have the option to rent a premium scooter on a subscription basis! These monthly subscriptions include things like maintenance and replacements if something were to happen with your e-scooter. This way, you will have all the perks of owning and renting an e-scooter, without having any of the cons!
