https://timesofindia.indiatimes.
com/trend-tracking/in-the-two-wheeler-sharing-market-electric-
scooters-are-getting-hot/articleshow/67608602.cms
Pedl, which operated over 15,000 cycles across Bengaluru, Pune and other cities at its peak, at a price
of just Rs 3 for 10 minutes, announced in December that it is halting the services across the country.
Ofo, which is backed by the powerful Alibaba Group, is said to be on the verge of bankruptcy. The
company had launched in India too, but withdrew around the middle of last year.
Indian bike-sharing startups raised around $138 million in funding in 2018, compared to just $2 million
in 2016.
Bike-sharing is seen as the best solution to solving the last-mile connectivity gap associated with public
transport. The walk to the bus stops or metro stations — or from there to our homes or offices — may
often be too long. Getting to them on an autorickshaw or cab may be expensive. That’s the gap the
low-cost bike-sharing option hopes to fill. Besides, short shopping or office commutes. Mobycy used
to see an average of just three rides per day per cycle. But with scooters, it’s almost 10 rides per day
per scooter. Mobycy needs only four rides per day per scooter for profitability. It is now in talks with
bankers to go the leasing way. That could make the model a lot more scalable. Bounce is said to be
clocking close to 15,000 rides per day. 80% of our daily rides are repeats (by the same commuter), and
over 50% originate near metro stations.
The rise in popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) is being seen as an inflexion point for the segment. It’s
a more cost-effective option, it’s simpler to operate, and provides a smoother ride.
Hexi, a joint venture between Hero Cycles Group and Chinese bicycle sharing entity Youon Bike, has
erickshaws and bicycles that are used in universities, and commercial and industrial campuses. One
needs to be cautious about the freefloat model, where users can drop the cycles anywhere. It often
leads to issues of vandalism and theft. Cycle parts like seats are a particular attraction.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/drivezy-drives-into-hyderabad-
with-a-fleet-of-500-bikes-and-scooters/articleshow/64855869.cms?from=mdr
Drivezy announced the launch of its bike sharing services, with a fleet of 500 bikes and scooters, in
Hyderabad. Drivezy currently operates in four other places -- Mumbai, Pune, Mysuru and Goa. Drivezy
is looking to triple its revenue and fleet size in the current financial year. The company aims to utilise
the additional fleet to include one-way, intra-city sharing services for motorcycles and scooters. This
will allow customers to pick a two-wheeler from designated locations and drop it at any Drivezy
location within city limits, it was stated. Unlike conventional rental services, this absolves the need of
returning the vehicle at the point of origin, providing customers a greater degree of convenience. This
will allow customers to travel at half the price of autos and taxis.
Drivezy's marketplace allows individual vehicle owners to list their idle cars, motorcycles and scooters
and turn them into profit generating assets by renting the vehicles to customers at a fraction of the
cost required to purchase a vehicle. The company plans to enlist over 10,000 two-wheelers by next
month. Earlier this year, the company also launched its services with over 1,700 bikes listed across
Bangaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru and Goa.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/ride-hailing-enters-new-growth-lane-as-bike-
mobility-takes-off/articleshow/69910360.cms
Ask customers to be a little responsible. The area’s residents’ association wants the garbage guy to
take it away. Bounce responded quickly, saying it would clear the obstruction. But on April 4, he again
found two abandoned Bounce scooters, which cost about Rs 50,000 apiece, parked on the street. A
few weeks later, one of them was wrecked by an annoyed motorist.
Instances of vandalism to rented rides and even theft of their parts have become common in the
country’s startup capital amid a surge in interest for the two-wheelers. Many people in Bengaluru now
hire them for short trips instead of calling a cab, and poor conduct by some users is, for the moment,
a minor concern for Bounce and its investors as the company chases market domination and growth.
Because our scooters are branded, they get more attention. More than vandalism, theft is an issue of
concern if there is a second-hand market value to it. We are working on our custom models (which
won’t have second-hand market value). Many of the firm’s rides have been abandoned on flyovers or
carelessly left in the middle of the road and its yellow helmets have been nicked by people for personal
use. One estimate pegged the loss of helmets at a few lakh rupees a week. Helmets contribute to
brand building. And their theft can be perhaps viewed as marketing cost. The service comes with the
extra cost of rebalancing scooters to areas where the demand is high. Vogo uses a designated
substation model, from where people can hire a bike. The vehicle can be returned to a substation
nearest to the point where the trip ends. Vogo’s model may not seem as convenient as Bounce’s, but
it helps prevent theft and abandonment. Currently, Bounce operates only in Bangalore, whereas Vogo
also has a presence in Hyderabad.
Rapido, is building a bike taxi business. Yulu, focuses on environment-friendly bicycles and low-speed
electric scooters, which people can rent from designated parking areas in Bengaluru, Pune,
Bhubaneswar, and Navi Mumbai for short hops. The new mobility players are betting on the ubiquity
of two-wheelers and the opportunity to appeal to a larger market because of a lower price point. The
proportion of car-owning households in the country stands at around 11%, lower than that of two-
wheeler-owning ones (36%), according to ICE 360° Survey 2016. There are over 210 million people
with two-wheeler licences in India. Vogo and Bounce charge about Rs 4-5 per km, while a Rapido ride
costs Rs 10-11 per km as it must pay drivers, apart from maintenance and fuel costs. Yulu e-scooters
cost about Rs 5-6 per km. Cab fares are typically over Rs 15 per km.
Bounce says its daily rides have shot up from 500 in September 2018 to over 35,000. Vogo says it has
seen similar growth — from 10,000 rides a day in January to 35,000-40,000 rides a day. Both firms
expect to have 1,00,000 scooters by year end. Each vehicle is likely to be used for 4-6 rides daily,
potentially pushing the market to over 1 million rides a day. Rapido says it’s doing about 1,00,000 rides
a day and is looking to hit the 1-million daily mark by year end. Thanks to its lower price, Rapido, which
is present in 40 cities, has seen a faster pickup in small towns. Income gap is more pronounced in a
market like India and transportation options are not available in every area. We form a bridge between
convenience and affordability. Cabs are a top 5% market, but bikes can appeal to top 35% of the
market.
The firms are tackling vandalism and theft by making hardware tweaks, imposing fines, threatening
service bans, and filing police complaints. India’s mobility moving to electric is inevitable and two-
wheelers will rule the cities as 80% of the vehicles in India are two-wheelers. The cost of operating
EVs could be Rs 3 per km as against Rs 4-5 per for operating regular scooters. But setting up charging
stations and sourcing components for EVs will be a challenge.
