Electric micromobility has proven that it is no passing fad: on the contrary, it is a cornerstone of sustainable urban mobility and a profitable economic sector.

That is why entrepreneurs looking to start a new franchise business value the sharing mobility industry: scalable investments, good profits and little day-to-day management effort thanks to sharing apps, IoT and GPS solutions.

But where does it really pay to open an e-bike and e-scooter sharing service?

Not every city offers the same opportunities, but it is easy to invest even in smaller towns, provided you choose a fleet of the right size to optimise the cost/revenue ratio.

E-scooter and bike sharing: what micromobility is and how it works

Before investing, you need to fully understand how the sector works.

What exactly is sharing? It is a shared mobility service that lets users rent a bike for short periods (from a few minutes to a few hours). In electric micromobility, the same concept applies to e-bike sharing, e-scooter sharing and moped sharing.

Sharing services rest on three technological and organisational pillars:

• A sharing app on the smartphone: the user locates the vehicle (whether a shared bike or a shared e-scooter) and unlocks it via QR code, and the app also allows the vehicle to be tracked by GPS;
• Flexible pricing: payment is pay-per-use, usually per minute or through built-in subscriptions;
• Free-floating or station-based model: in the first case, vehicles can be left anywhere (within a defined area); in the second, they must be parked at exchange hubs, the so-called sharing points.

Where to open a sharing service: the success factors

To choose where and how to launch a fleet of shared e-kick scooters and pedal-assist bikes, we suggest taking these three aspects into account:

1. Sharing complements urban transport for commuters

Data from the Sharing Mobility Observatory confirm that the main users of electric vehicle sharing today are university students and workers. They mostly use them in medium-sized and large cities to reach bus, train and metro stops. Electric vehicles therefore act as a “connector” for the first and last mile of the journey. The average trip on a shared e-scooter is about 2 km: the perfect distance between the railway station and the office or university.

So it pays to open an e-bike or e-scooter sharing service in a university city or an urban centre reached by thousands of commuters every day.

2. A flexible way to get around in tourist destinations

Tourism brings a steady flow of users willing to pay standard rates (without a subscription) for electric vehicle sharing, increasing profit margins. E-bikes and e-kick scooters are particularly well suited to art cities or seaside resorts with cycle paths and flat terrain.

With this in mind, at BikeBoom we are also working to give an extra edge to owners of hotels and holiday accommodation who want to offer their guests a shared mobility service, by opening a BikeBoom Corner within their own premises, with flexible investments, even seasonal ones.

3. Exchange hubs and municipal parking areas

Local councils today expect order and compliance with the rules when it comes to sharing points and electric mobility. Many cities have therefore already planned or set up dedicated parking areas for shared e-bikes and e-scooters, and intermodal hubs to integrate public transport with electric micromobility.

Investing in these cities reduces fleet management costs and the risk of fines for irresponsible parking.

On the other hand, sometimes it is the councils themselves that invest in a shared electric mobility service for their residents.

BikeBoom offers full technical and administrative support to both entrepreneurs and Municipalities that want to start a sharing service in their city by joining our Community.

Watch out for the competition: is it better to open a sharing service in big cities or small towns?

In big cities such as Milan, Rome and Turin there is very high demand for shared vehicles, thanks to the constant flow of commuters, tourists, students and workers. However, the market is saturated with big international players and municipal tenders are highly competitive. If you choose to open a BikeBoom franchise, you get support with the paperwork too, in any case.

Medium-sized cities, with 50,000 to 150,000 inhabitants, are often off the radar of the big operators and offer interesting market opportunities. If you open a local bike sharing or e-scooter sharing service here, you can strike direct, favourable agreements with the Municipality, and competition is less fierce.

In small seaside resorts and tourist art cities, which empty out in winter and fill up in summer, the most interesting option is to open seasonal-only sharing services, including, as we said, within hotels and holiday accommodation with the BikeBoom Corner format.

Where to start

Opening a shared mobility service pays off where there is a real need for a flexible, fast, zero-emission way of getting around.

Before investing blindly, contact the BikeBoom team to find out about all the opportunities to start your e-bike and e-scooter sharing franchise.

By opening a BikeBoom franchise you get dedicated support to:

• identify the best location to invest in
• follow the procedure to open a fully compliant sharing service
• build a tailor-made fleet, with vehicles from the most prestigious brands, in line with the rules
• deal with the bureaucratic process
• receive advice and best practice on marketing and customer loyalty
• get the sharing app free of charge.

Contact BikeBoom now

Contact BikeBoom