The electric scooter is making waves and fast becoming the new mode of transportation in different countries across the world. They are silent, they cost less, and they are eco-friendly. It is because of this rising trend that we see the increase of electric scooter sales and electric scooter rental services worldwide.

Using the electric scooter to aid mobility has become a thing that is seemingly here to stay, and I think it is safe to say that it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world joins in. However, for those who are thinking of joining the trend, one question remains; is it better to rent or to own the electric scooter.

This question is on the minds of so many people, and today, we are going to be looking into the benefits of both owning and renting the electric scooter.

Renting an Electric Scooter

With so many electric scooter rental outlets around today, it is as easy as simply filling out the necessary information for registration and finding the nearest available scooter ready for use. The cost of renting an electric scooter is not a lot at all. In fact, it is because of how affordable it is to rent an electric scooter that the scooter has become very popular today.

Benefits of Renting an Electric Scooter

Cost: When renting an electric scooter, the cost is very minimal, and it is charged according to the distance covered while riding it.

Maintenance: When you decide to rent an electric scooter, the burden and the cost of maintenance is off your shoulders. You do not have to bother yourself with making sure the scooter is at optimal functional capacity.

Charging: Another benefit of renting an electric scooter is the fact that you do get to save up on electricity used to charge the scooter.

Model: When renting an electric scooter, you are not guaranteed the same scooter every time. This means that you are guaranteed to get to use a different scooter with every rental you make.

Convenience: When renting an electric scooter, you cannot simply pick one up and be on your way, you actually have to search around for one that is available for use.

Safety Gear: Many electric scooter rental services do not offer any safety gear; rather they advise renters to have their own safety gear. It is rather bothersome to carry about electric scooter safety gear simply because there is a possibility that you may need to rent one. As a result of this, many renters do not use safety gear when riding an electric scooter.

Model: When renting an electric scooter, there are only so many models that you can pick from, and these are models like Bird or Lime which do not last very long on a single charge. 

Lack of Freedom:To be able to ride an electric scooter, you first need to find it. Sometimes, the nearest electric scooter available for rent might be 5 miles away, which beats the purpose of using the electric scooter for that last mile distance. Needless to say, sometimes when you actually found the electric scooter, there is a good chance it is a spoilt one and you cannot use it.

Owning an Electric Scooter

Owning an electric scooter is something that is a big deal to a lot of people. It is almost as big a deal as deciding whether to own a car or not. Owning an electric scooter is something of a commitment, and it is something that you want to be careful with before you make a decision.

Benefits of Owning an Electric Scooter

Customizability: When you own your own electric scooter, you have the freedom to customize it anyhow you like and to suit your personal taste.

Convenience: Owning an electric scooter means having the convenience of not having to walk around searching for an available scooter anytime you need to use one.

Cost: It is only cost effective that if you are prone to using an electric scooter every day, you may as well buy one as the accumulated cost of buying one will be cheaper in the long run.

Model: When buying an electric scooter, you have the option of getting any model you want. Preferably a model like the EMOVE cruiser that allows you to ride up to 62 miles on a single charge.

Preference: When you own an electric scooter, you can get one that suits your personal needs and preference.

Safety gear: Owing an electric scooter gives you the motive to carry about and use your safety gear with ease.

Detriments of Owning an Electric Scooter

Charging: Owing an electric scooter means having to ensure that it is charged appropriately with your own electricity.

Maintenance: When you own your own electric scooter, the burden of maintenance falls upon your shoulders. Although, maintaining an electric scooter is rather inexpensive.

Model: If you happen to own a regular mid-range electric scooter, then you are stuck with it for a long time.

Care: When you own an electric scooter, you have to think about carrying into buildings and taking it into your home at the end of the day.

Now that we have seen the pros and cons of both renting and owning an electric scooter let us compare the most important elements of both scenarios.

Cost

When renting an average electric scooter, it can cost about $1.50 per mile. Say for instance you cover about 10-miles a day your total rental bill will come to $15 a day.

When you own an electric scooter, you could cost you about 9cents per mile. This means that for the same 10-mile distance a day, you will be racking up only 90cents a day. Not counting our heavy duty EMOVE Cruiser riders who are covering 40-50 miles on a daily basis.

Basically, when it comes to the cost analysis, in the long run, it is much cheaper to own an electric scooter rather than to keep renting all year round.

Convenience

In terms of convenience, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that buying is better than renting. The reasons are very simple. As stated above;

It is less hassle to use a scooter when you own one; however, if you need to rent one, then you would have to go around looking for one that is available for rent. This has to be the best benefit after the cost of buying an electric scooter.

When you buy your own electric scooter, it stays with you always. This means that you can go about on your electric scooter all day whereas, with a rented electric scooter, you would still be required to walk around during your commute. You could either be looking for one to rent or be looking for where to conveniently leave the one that you have rented.

Usage

When you own your own scooter, you can learn all there is to learn about using that particular model, and you can even customize the scooter to suit you, however, when you rent an electric scooter, you are subject to whatever model is available for rent and as such handling the available scooters may sometimes be a problem. 

Electric scooters are the next big thing, and the rate of adoption is fast rising each day. Whether you choose to rent or you buy one, you would want to weigh the pros and cons objectively. However, from our judgment, it only makes both an economical and logical sense that you buy your very own scooter.

Not only would you enjoy the flexibility that ownership affords you, but you would also be making a personal statement, representing the future of transport.

Disclaimer: VOROMOTORS is an electric scooter company.

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