How to develop a Scooter Sharing app Like Lime, Bird and Spin?

Those days are back when we used scooters and bicycles to commute to our schools or nearby markets.  Electric Vespa- like scooters and electric kick scooters are the present inclined choices to commute to your workplace, home, markets etc. It’s enjoyable, fun and fast.

 What is a Scooter Sharing App?

Scooter sharing is a form of shared mobility that has gotten more recognition over the last couple of years. Although scooter sharing app development is alike the carsharing and bike-sharing still, it costs less and is most competent for shorter trips.

Just like other forms of shared mobility, scooter sharing is also aimed at determining several immediate concerns:

• Fuel conservation
• Reduction of Carbon Footprint
• Mitigation of urban congestion
• Unravelling parking problems

What is Behind The Popularity Of E Scooters?

The progress of electric scooter apps is evidential. The market size of the scooter sharing app was estimated at $17.43 billion in 2018. The market is expected to rise at a rate of 8.5% annually.

Above figures show that the market is evolving at a steady rate and is swiftly becoming a trend in some of the major cities of the USA. They are becoming part of everyday commutes for activities like attending college, going to the office, classes, and more.

Some of the reasons behind the popularity of the E-scooters are listed below:

Less Expensive

Cost is one of the fundamental factors for users to accept a particular trend. When compared to cab sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, a scooter sharing application turns out to be a cheaper and convenient solution for the everyday commute.

A ride on a scooter charges around $2-3, as compared to $20 for a trip of a cab. Low prices will also entice the college and little wage audiences to utilise the app.

It’s Fun

In an epoch where on-demand cab sharing has been for a decade now, electric scooters are breaking the stereotypes and fascinate users. In a survey by bikeportland.org, 28% of the Portlanders prefer to ride an electric bike because it was sheer fun and easy.

Portable

Electric scooters are portable. You can carry them with yourselves on buses, metro, crossing roads, etc. Compared to parking a car, parking an electric scooter needs a little or no effort as they can fit easily anywhere.

Sustainability

Zero carbon FootPrint:

Electric bikes/scooters diffuse zero air and noise pollution, which is one of the crucial concerns not only in USA but in the whole world. Countries like India and China are also heavily suffering from noise and air pollution.

Therefore you can use Environmental factors as a USP to trade your product to customers.

Avoid Traffic Congestion

Another most major concern of the public is traffic. No one likes to get stuck in a traffic jam for hours, which induces us to electric scooters. They conserve our time not only in heavy traffic but also save our time in parking.

Your Personal Travelling Companion to Solve the Last Mile Problem

E-scooters are a unique way to finish small tasks. When a person has to cover a short distance, which can’t be reached by walking and will cost more upon taking a cab, electric scooters come to the rescue.

How Does an E Scooter Sharing App Works?

• Register to the app using your credentials and enter the payment details.
• Search for a nearby scooter.
• Review the price and enter the destination.
• Unlock the scooter with the QR code using your mobile phone.
• After you reach the goal, unlock the scooter and start your ride.

Check out: How to Develop a Bike Sharing App in 2020? [A Complete Guide]

Scooter sharing market insights

The Escooter market includes electric Vespa-scooters and kick scooters. Electric Vespa-like scooters have been ruling Europe for the past five years, while kick scooter sharing has been a latest-growing trend in the US.

However, now the tables have turned, as old scooter sharing applications are slowly expanding around the US. Likewise, more and more kick scooter firms are launching sharing services in Europe.

Kick scooter sharing – Application-based, dockless e-scooters has created a transportation revolution by proposing on-demand mobility and affordable prices. The market began with three California-based startups in 2017–2018 and has erupted at the universal level. The explorers in this field were Lime, Bird, and Spin. It’s harmless to say that these electric scooter rental corporations are owning the shared e-scooter market today.

Bird and Lime have raised a united $1.48 billion in funding as of April 2019. Bird scooter app is priced at $2 billion even though the company is less than a year old.

Other e-scooter sharing companies like Skip, Goat, Wind Mobility, VOI, and Scoot. Just like their more contenders, they provide on-demand dockless electric scooters in cities and on campuses. Uber has also joined the game by procuring e-scooter sharing service Jump.

Scooter sharing trend began with California-based startups and has exploded at the universal level.

There are more than 100,000 kick scooters in the US and Europe. Lime and Bird are serving in more than 90 cities in the US and are in 22 European cities, which include Paris, Berlin, London, and Madrid.

Epical scooter sharing is more common in Europe and less developed in the USA.

Old scooter sharing includes  Vespa-style scooters that have been around since 2012, but it’s only in the last two years that a stream of new sharing platforms has emerged. There are now more than 8,000 smart shared scooters globally. Over 40% of them are found on the streets of Berlin and Paris.

Leading traditional scooter sharing firms in Europe include ECooltra, Muving, Coup, CityScoot, Yugo, Emmy, and VOI.

Vespa-like scooter-sharing companies use simplistic apps to show riders the closest scooters and the trip cost.

Although Vespa-like scooters aren’t as prevalent in the US as in Europe, some electric scooter rental companies are successfully working across the States. Scoot operates in San Francisco, and Scoobi rents out electric scooters in Pittsburgh. The newest member to join the US market is Muving, a Spain-based electric scooter sharing provider.

Vespa-like scooter-sharing firms use basic apps to show riders where the nearest scooters are and how much a ride will cost. Rental charges may vary from 25 to 30 cents to unlock the scooter and 15 to 20 cents per minute afterwards.

According to Berg Insight forecast, scooter sharing platforms will offer 2.6 million traditional and kick scooters globally by the end of 2023.

Time and cost

The approximate hours are 800-900 hours to develop the entire application, including front-end and back-end.

If you want to get the scooter sharing app developed from the USA, the average development rate per hour varies around $50 – $100 per hour. Consequently, it will cost you about $43,600 – $872,000.

However, if you hire outsource mobile app development from India, the average development rate per hour will be $30 – $70 per hour. Hence, it will cost you approximately $26,160 – $61,040.

Further, these are just approximate time and cost. To get the exact development hours and cost according to your requirements, consult the mobile development company that you will prefer to hire for your project.

Monetization

There are three methods to monetize your scooter sharing app:

• Show targeted ads in the application. For example, you can promote shops, restaurants, and hotels on your platform.
• Sell memberships by advising your customers to buy weekly, monthly, and annual passes.
• Offer discounts for loyal customers by distributing coupons and promo codes.

Top 3 Scooter sharing Apps in USA

Bird

California based Bird is a dockless scooter sharing app startup that is renowned for serving electric scooters in 100+ cities worldwide.

The startup enables you to rent an electric bike for merely a dollar. It costs 15 cents per minute. It includes both standing scooters and cruiser bikes.

The app allows customers to search, lock, and unlock the scooter via the scooter sharing app.

Striking features of the app:

• Smart locking and Unlocking system
• QR code integration
• Payment gateway integration
• Real-time GPS tracking
• Maps to search a nearby scooter

Lime

Lime is one of the youngest and most successful scooter sharing apps in the USA. It assists their customers to move around in cities in an affordable way.

Lime offers three modes of transportation, i.e., Lime-S (electric scooter), Lime-E (e-assist bike), and LimeBike.

Striking features of the app:

• Discover the nearby scooter
• Lock and Unlock the scooter using ID or QR code
• Protected and secure payment through payment gateway integration.

Spin

Spin is an e-scooter startup that has fostered total funding of $8 million from some of the most famous enterprise capitalists in the USA.

Currently Spin is operating in more than 62 cities and 17+ campuses. Spin recently brought its stationless scooter sharing program to many of the famous cities of the USA.

Striking features of the app:

• Google maps integration to locate the nearest electric scooter
• Enter payment details to obtain an automatic free trip
• Scan QR code to lock and unlock the vehicle

Final Words

The scooter sharing app development market is expanding at a steady rate. The market is getting competitive. If you don’t invest in developing scooter sharing apps now, then when?

If you have any e-scooter app development idea or you are inclined to start your e-scooter sharing business with a dockless mobility app, get in touch with our scooter sharing app development specialists now.

We have understood the scooter sharing app market pretty well. We can help you shine in the market by creating a robust mobile app and a strong back-end.

FAQ

Q. How Does Scooter Sharing Work?

1. Finding a bike nearby through the search option.
2. Unlocking the bike with the QR code.
3. Pay for your ride.
4. Complete the ride after the completion.

Q. How long does it take to develop an app like Bird or Lime?

To develop a scooter sharing application along with an admin panel, it will take around 600 – 900 hours. It will include planning, designing, development, testing, and deployment time of the application.

Q. How much will it cost to develop a scooter sharing app?

If you hire developers from the USA, it’ll cost $50,000 to $80,000. However, If you hire the app developer from India, then it’ll cost around $30,000 to $50,000.