Many cities understand the value of the commuter scooter and have made many efforts to introduce spots where you can rent a folding electric scooter which is both incredibly convenient and easy to use.
However, this has also become a subject of numerous debates, with many people favoring rentals. In contrast, people on the other side of the discussion state that investing in an affordable electric scooter is greatly beneficial in the long run, without waiting in lines or paying a daily fee.
Let us discuss this in greater detail, understanding both motor scooter subscriptions and rentals and highlighting their pricing.
Many electric scooter companies now offer subscription-based services to battle the major disadvantage offered by rental scooters, which are the incredibly high prices in the long run.
There are many different subscription-based motor scooter services around the globe, each offering a different pricing structures and methods of payment when planning to buy them, with a number of them offering a subscription service which is a much better way to get an electric scooter of your own.
How it works is that after subscribing for a scooter, you are essentially buying the scooter, allowing you to ride on it without having to pay a rental fee whenever you wish to unlock the scooter to ride on.
As far as the availability and accessibility of electric scooters are concerned, there are certain factors due to which subscription services tend to offer less regarding availability.
This is because even though many scooter subscription services come with an app to book the long-range electric scooter you wish to utilize for the day, you have no power over choosing the scooter you will rent.
Furthermore, opting for a subscription service has another disadvantage: you would not have any control over whether the scooter is available.
However, if you go for a rental service, you can choose whatever scooter looks and feels the best for you before paying the unlock fee for the folding electric scooter that works best for you.
Moreover, if you rent a scooter daily rather than opting for a subscription service, you will not be limited to the rental stands covered by a service. You will go for one you want, guaranteeing the availability of a commuter scooter whenever you need it.
Since subscription services are a comparatively new venture as opposed to the electric scooter rental culture, which has been around for as long as the first electric scooters launched into the market, subscription-based services are still expanding.
This is why there are many countries where rentals may be available, but subscription-based services to avail the long-range electric scooter are not.
Regarding usage hours, many services offer scooters that do not need to be returned to the original place you rented them from. You can bring it back to your home and use the scooter whenever you want until the subscription period ends.
However, with rental scooters, you are only given a 24-hour limit within which you need to return the scooter you rented back to the original place where you unlocked it.
Even though much advancement has been made to streamline the scooter rental process, in the end, you are only given 24 hours before the rental period expires, and you need to park the scooter back in the rental space.
As stated earlier, when booking a scooter with the subscription-based service, you cannot choose from a selection of scooters and need to do so with the one assigned to you.
Furthermore, there have also been instances where the electrical scooters used by subscription services tend to suffer in quality, with many of them coming in inferior and cheaper models.
These not only contain smaller batteries which do not offer much range compared to the rental model, but their top speed is not much as well, leading to a folding electric scooter that is slower and less lasting than the rental models.
When renting an electric scooter, you need to pay a set initial fee for the first hour of the rental, which can cost as low as $1, depending on the rental service.
However, when subscribing to a subscription service, you need to sign up for an installment plan that can range anywhere between $50 and $100, depending on the company's subscription period and pricing structure.
After the initial hour is up for the affordable electric scooter rental, you will need to pay additional money per minute or hour you have used the rental. Once again, this largely depends on the company, usually costing 15 cents per minute. However, you do not need to pay daily or hourly fees when opting for a subscription.
Scooter rentals have a built-in tracker which tracks your location, allowing you to call a technician if the scooter needs repairs. They do not require maintenance as they are rentals, but with a subscription, you need to maintain the best electric scooter since it is yours to keep.
Automotive insurance does not extend to rental electric scooters, making you liable for anything that happens to the scooter while you are riding it.
However, there are many motor scooter insurance plans that come with the option to opt for a package that includes special insurance along with your purchase, with certain packages offering different policies.
Due to the subscription services only charging you till all the installments have been paid off, they are known to be much more profitable for you in the long run, as opposed to rental motor scooter services, where you would have to pay a fee whenever you need to unlock the commuter scooter to ride to your destination, making them better for the short-term.
When choosing to subscribe to an electric scooter service, you do not have any influence over the availability of the scooter. Still, with rentals, you have a selection of different rental spots where a scooter may be available.
However, rentals are much more convenient as they come with an app to book your best electric scooter from the comfort of your home, some of which even deliver it directly to your doorstep.
When it comes to quality, the majority of subscription services offer the best and most affordable electric scooter for heavy adults models. However, rentals do not require you to take any responsibility for the scooter.
There are a variety of different subscription options with Limepass, such as the weekly subscription, which negates the unlocking fee for a week for all rentals at the price of $4.99 a week.
Bird offers a great monthly subscription-based plan, which delivers the bike right to your doorstep, rather than you having to look for the scooter on the sidewalk.
Spin recently introduced its Spin Plus package, which includes a monthly rental of a premium electric scooter and other benefits such as unlimited maintenance.
Since electric scooters started to emerge in the market and gained a reputation as being one of the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective ways to travel, many cities and countries have decided to offer motor scooter rental services throughout entire cities.
You can take advantage of the convenience that comes with electric scooters today, choosing from a selection of great scooters such as the Varla Pegasus City Commuter or the Eagle One Dual Motor.
