Bird or Lime – What’s the Best Way to Rent an Electric Scooter in Austin, Texas?
Renting an electric scooter is an important way to experience the convenience and fun of micromobility in Austin. With the rise of electric scooters, more and more people are choosing them as a way to get around the city. Electric scooters are a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and fun way to move around the city. They are especially beneficial for short trips that would otherwise be made by car or on foot.
In this post, we will compare the of three of the most popular scooter rental companies in Austin: Bird, Lime, and Scootly.
First, let’s look at the of Bird and Lime.
Bird scooters cost 450 to unlock and 10 cents to 35 cents per minute to rent. However, the exact per-minute cost varies between cities. This current price range actually reflects a recent change in pricing, which doubled costs in some cities while dropping in others. In comparison, Lime — one of Bird’s top competitors — charges 15 cents per minute plus the same 450 unlocking fee.
You pay one flat fee for a week’s rental or a monthly subscription and can ride as much as you want in the rental period. This is a major advantage over Lime and Bird, who charge per minute. This means that with Scootly, you can save money by taking longer rides and not having to worry about running up a large bill.
Quality is another important factor to consider when choosing a scooter rental company.
Scootly prides itself on having high-quality scooters for rent in Austin. The company regularly inspects and maintains its scooters to ensure they are in good working condition. This is a major advantage over Lime and Bird, who do not always guarantee the quality of their scooters.
Unlike personal electric scooters, neither Bird nor Lime scooters collapse. There is really no need for them to be portable, as riders don’t need to carry them into buildings for safekeeping. The only advantage would be for the chargers, as these scooters weigh about 40 pounds — hauling them into cars can be tough. With Scootly, you don’t have to go find a scooter on the street (like with Lime and Bird since they offer dockless scooter rentals). Scootly delivers your scooter for free on the same day you order and picks it up for free at the end of the rental period. This is a major advantage over Lime and Bird, which do not offer this service.
About Bird eScooter App
Founded in 2017 by Travis VanderZanden of Uber and Lyft fame, Bird is a Santa Monica based micro mobility brand, which operates in more than 100 cities of North America, Middle East, and Europe. In the second year of operation itself, the brand bagged over 300 million in funding rounds.
Bird App in the News
- Bird is in talks to acquire German Rival Circ. According to several people who know the two brands closely, Circ, has been seeking buyers after facing difficulty in raising new funds to back its expansion.
- Bird, understanding that the real business value comes from using the platform as a place for businesses to become a marketplace, has launched its own platform for the same activity. In addition to showcasing its own scooters, it is also offering other operators to be found and booked through the Bird app.
Must-Have Features of Electric Scooter App
When we talk about the feature set that contributes to the electric scooter app cost estimate. there are two versions that we consider: User and Admin.
Let us look at the specifications of electric scooter app that come in both the versions, individually.
Registration
A strategically planned registration process is one of the most important parts of app on boarding. It is also something that you should be very careful about. If you ask users for too much information, they are likely to get wary and leave your app and if you ask too less, you might end up asking them to give the information later in the app.
Thus, it is important to only ask them what is necessary.
In-App Payment
Integration of payment mechanism in your app is another must-have feature that should be present in your eScooter ride sharing application. You should enable the users to make the payment, either in advance or at the end of the ride (according to your business model) from within the application.
Navigation
By adding geolocation in your mobile app. you will be able to give your users the ability to look where the eScooters are parked. This way, it will be easy for them to reach the scooters on time.
Push Notifications
Your users will have to be kept updated at several instances both during the ride and off it. You would have to reach out to them to inform them of marketing plans and at the time of ride, they’ll want to know the payment amount, ride details emergency security notifications, etc. All this will be done through rightly employing the push notifications feature.
Barcode Scan
An integral part of Bird eScooter like app development cost is the barcode scanning feature. It is how the riders will start the ride on their eScooter. You should ensure that the process of scanning the barcode off the scooter is seamless (this is one of the biggest challenges of making electric scooter app that developers face).
User Management
The first functionality that must be present in the eScooter app’s admin side dashboard is user management. Through the feature, the admin will be able to track riders details – number, how they are using the app, problems they are facing, etc.
Ride Management
Through the feature, admin will be able to manage all the rides – ride history, locations, routes chosen, the speed limit, where is the eScooter being ridden – if it is following government’s regulations, etc.
Payment Management
This feature will help admin be on top of the payments that riders are making, if there are cases of non payment, etc. It will also give them insights into what they would have to change in their payment mechanism to keep the users hooked.
Dispute Management
There can be several instances of disputes in the journey of a rider. The feature will help the admin know which issues have been raised and how to resolve them within stipulated time.
UI/UX Design System for an eScooter Application
When we talk about designing a ride sharing application, the one name that all designers look up to is Uber. But designing an app like Uber will come with a cost. For you to understand what makes designing an important part of the development cost of app like Bird, Skip, Lime, Spin, Goat, and Scoot, it’ll be important to see the intricacy that it demands.
Our team of designers recently worked on the design and development of an eScooter application, Moo. For the process, we extensively worked on user research and interviews to get an idea of what is it that drives them to ride a scooter. Here’s a snippet of how it looked.
What primarily separates a micro-mobility booking application from a Uber or Lyft like app is the user base. The user class that eScooters come with are extremely young and social media centric. This is the reason why the app must have an eye catchy design as well.
And noting how the app handles micro-mobility needs, the design should also support the minimalism that is aligned with the ride duration.
Now that we have looked into the elements defining the cost of designing the application. let’s move on to the next development centric cost impacting factor which you’ll come across when you build on-demand eScooter app like Bird.
Technology Stack Choice for a Robust eScooter Ride-Sharing Application
The choice of technology stack makes up for a major part of the price of eScooter sharing app development.
Since no two applications are the same, it’s not necessary that the tech stack which works for Bird will work for you too. But knowing the electric scooter app tech stack they have followed can be a great starting point for you to base your application on.
Where Are Bird Scooters In Uk?
In the UK, there are a variety of places where you can find bird scooters. Some of the more popular locations include London, Manchester, and Birmingham. However, you can also find them in other major cities across the country. If you’re having trouble finding a specific location, you can always use the internet to help you locate one near you.
The Bird B2 is a city scooter with a 350-watt motor that is designed for urban travel. The Bird B2 is equipped with a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour and a weight capacity of 250 pounds. Furthermore, the vehicle has a 10-mile range and can be charged in as little as 60 minutes. Because of its compact size, the Bird B2 is ideal for people who live in densely populated urban areas and require a quick way to get around. It’s also convenient for short trips, such as a grocery store trip. Bird B2 scooters are ideal for people who want to be environmentally friendly while traveling.
Bird Scooter Locations
In most cases, you can find Bird scooters near popular tourist destinations, public parks, and busy city streets. However, the company has been known to move scooters around to different locations, so it’s always best to check the app to see where the nearest scooter is.
Bird scooters are now easily accessible from Google Maps when traveling on the route. The platform is a joint venture between Skipr and Tranzer, two mobility-as-a-service platforms. Google added Spin to its app this week, bringing the total number of Spin products available on the Google Play store to eight.
The Bird app can help you broaden your horizons and meet new people. It’s a great way to keep fit while also reaping the benefits. The app is simple to use, and you don’t need any special equipment to get started. You only need the Bird app and a smartphone. Bird’s first version is ideal for new riders because it is very user-friendly. You can make new friends as well as discover new places to ride and meet new people. You do not need any special equipment to use the app. Once you have finished, you can park it anywhere you want, as long as it is not on a public street and is not obstructing traffic. It’s a great way to incorporate exercise into your routine.
Are There Bird Scooters In Fort Lauderdale?
Bird and Lime are the only two scooter rental companies in Fort Lauderdale. Each of these two businesses is permitted to have a maximum of 500 scooters on a license. The city of Fort Lauderdale intends to limit the number of scooters permitted in the city to 1,500.
Are Bird Scooters In Las Vegas?
Are there any Bird scooters in Las Vegas? If so, where do they go? Atomic Scooters Rentals, a local company, currently provides the same scooters as limes and birds for 10 an hour in Las Vegas.
The Rules Of Electric Scooters
Electric scooters do not need to follow any rules, but there is some misinformation out there. You are not permitted to ride an electric scooter on sidewalks or in public parks. You can park an e-scooter anywhere, as long as there is a fire hydrant, a sidewalk, and a driveway nearby. Furthermore, electric scooters are not permitted on the Strip.
Does Bird Sell Used Scooters
There’s no definitive answer to this question since each individual bird scooter is owned by a private party, not by the company itself. However, it’s likely that you could find a used scooter for sale from someone who no longer wants or needs it. To find out for sure, your best bet would be to check online classifieds websites or ask around locally for people who might be interested in selling their scooter.
Bird is introducing a new scooter. Ownership and shared-use cases are just a few ways to use it. In the coming months, people can pre-order and receive the scooter. Boosted, which is due to launch its electric scooter on May 15, will coincide with Bird’s announcement.
Analysts at Bird have been positive about the company’s fourth-quarter performance. The company reported a net profit of 10.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a net loss of 39.6 million in the same period a year earlier. Lime decided to recycle the older models that it no longer wanted after determining that giving away them would be too difficult due to the required maintenance and technical support. Other businesses that are struggling to dispose of older models will benefit from this announcement, and they will be more motivated to reduce waste because they will be able to do so more frequently.
Why Bird’s Recycling Policy Is A Problem
Bird, which was founded in September 2017, has sold electric scooters to over 400 cities across the country. It has experienced Rapid growth in recent years, increasing its total assets from US597 million in 2021 to US321 million in 2020. As of December 2021, the company employed 572 people. If you do not return your Bird scooter within 24 hours of using it, you will be charged a 100 restocking fee. If you do not return your scooter after the ride is finished, it will be recycled. Lime no longer wants the old Bird scooters it no longer wishes to keep.
Successes in Seattle
A study in Seattle, where four other e-scooter rental companies have been active for more than 18 months, indicated that about one in five users ride the scooters to connect with public transit. That’s the kind of synergy Reno officials are hoping for in the Biggest Little City.
The study noted that during that city’s pilot program, more than 260,000 unique riders took more than 1.4 million trips. The authors wrote that 54% of riders said they would have taken a taxi or ride-hail service or used a personal vehicle to make their last scooter trip.
But the Seattle report and another study of the scooter rental industry by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center also underline problems that always crop up in the wake of e-scooter programs. They include accidents with motor vehicles, safety issues with some types of scooters, damage to private property and vandalism.
Scooters debut in Reno
The scooters began hitting Reno streets in the downtown and Midtown districts on April 21. machines will be deployed over the next several weeks.
The Reno rollout has been popular. Officials reported that between April 21-28, the first week of operation, 2,480 new riders downloaded the app and took a spin. The service logged 6,153 rides traveling a total distance of 11,045 miles.
Bird’s contract was approved four years after Reno partnered with Lime Bikes. Those e-bicycles were vandalized at the rate of about nine per week, according to city officials. Some wound up in the Truckee River or on top of buildings. The available studies of e-scooter use and news stories from across the nation show that vandalism of the machines became a major problem soon after the scooters began appearing in U.S. cities in 2017.
In Oakland, e-scooters were tossed into trash cans, submerged in a lake and hung from trees. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2018 that rental scooters had been crammed into toilets, tossed off balconies and set on fire. “They’ve even been adorned with dangling bags of dog droppings,” the paper reported.
Safety a major concern
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center report noted that most cities lack a standardized reporting system for e-scooter accidents or for collecting crash and injury data. The Seattle Department of Transportation study used police reports to get a handle on some of those accidents. The records revealed that the city logged 17 collisions involving scooters between October 2020 and September 30, 2021, but because there is no standardized reporting of scooter accidents and injuries, study authors felt such incidences are under-reported.
Of the 17 crashes, nearly all occurred between a scooter and a vehicle. Five of those cases involved “serious” injuries, the report noted, including one fatality. In the city’s survey of about 5,200 scooter users, 11% (570 respondents) reported some type of injury from rides and around one-in-five said they sought medical help. The report listed injuries including road rash, lacerations requiring stitches, broken bones and one concussion. Riders cited poor weather and road conditions including broken/raised pavement and potholes as causes of the crashes, as well as interactions with other drivers.
Although e-scooter companies recommend that riders wear helmets, the Seattle survey – which authors noted is not a scientifically-representative sample – found that 70% of respondents don’t wear head protection.
The study reported that more than 1.4 million trips were taken by 260,000 riders during Seattle’s pilot program, with the initial fleet size growing from 1,500 scooters to 5,000 offered by four companies. Bird doesn’t operate in Seattle, where Lime, Link, Wheels and Spin deploy scooters.
Connecting to mass transit
The Seattle report revealed that 43% of respondents used scooters for recreational purposes like going to the park or to meet friends; 22% used scooters for commuting; 15% used scooters for going to restaurants; 12% used scooters for running errands or going to medical appointments; and 6% used scooters to go shopping.
About one-fifth of those surveyed reported that they used scooters to connect to mass transit and more than half said they ”would have used a personal vehicle or taxi if the scooters weren’t available.” The average trip lasted 15 minutes, traveled 1.4 miles and cost 6.63, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.
Most trips took place in Seattle’s downtown district. About 22% of respondents reported that they navigated some trips on sidewalks, where scooter use is discouraged when a bike lane is available. In Reno, scooter riders also are supposed to use bike lanes, but an RNR reporter found that many riders take to the sidewalks because they don’t feel that the bike lanes are a safe option, particularly in Midtown, where bikes, scooters and motor vehicles share a common lane.
The survey also concluded that at the start of the Seattle pilot program, about 20% of scooters were obstructing sidewalks, which fell to about 8% within a year.
Of the survey respondents, about 30% reported earning less than 50,000 annually and 24% earned between 50,000 and 99,999. About 14% of respondents said they made less than 25,000 annually and 46% made more than 100,000.