We put together some useful information for you regarding this subject so check it out in case you don’t know if you should buy or rent a scooter. If you need a scooter often or want to spend more time outside, you should buy one. In case you don’t want any of the maintenance or charging responsibilities and you rent a scooter on rare occasions, you should stick with the renting service.
Why you should buy a scooter
First of all, it could be cheaper. The average American citizen pays almost $2,500 a year for commuting related expenses. In 20 years, the money spent on commuting will add up to $50,000. In big cities such as New York or Chicago, the costs could be two times higher.
You can use the e-scooter to ride it anywhere you need, not only to and from work. Even if you own a car, replacing it with the scooter for short-distance trips will increase the life of the car battery and reduce the wear on your entire car.
However, the e-scooter might not be the best fit for everyone. Anybody that has a long commute still needs to own a car or get a bus pass so they don’t push the scooter for the last miles of the trip. Also, in rural areas, the scooter is not the best choice.
It saves money
Apparently, it is very cheap to rent a scooter whenever you need to make a fast trip. In general, for using a sharing scooter service, you have to pay $1 at the start of the trip and 10 or 15 cents for every minute of the rental period.
However, the expenses associated with renting an electric scooter will add up over time. So you can end up spending more on the rental service than you would pay on a brand new scooter and there are enough affordable scooters that you can purchase at the moment.
Furthermore, some renting companies will charge you for damaging the scooter or for not returning it on time. In case you damage one of the company’s scooters, you will pay from $25 to $500 and for not returning the scooter after 48 hours, you could pay up to $2000.
Let’s say you spend an average of $3 on renting an e-scooter every day. After 12 months, you would spend more than $1000 for the renting service. Add to this the cost of using public transportation as you will not always find an available scooter close to you.
You can get a good scooter for around $800 so after a while, it will pay for itself. Keep in mind that you can use a scooter for 2 or 3 years if you take good care of it.
It is more reliable
One of the major objections people have about the scooter rental service is that users tend to park them everywhere. It has become a common thing to see a big stack of scooters on sidewalks or in the middle of a parking space.
Theoretically, electric scooters should be very easy to find as there is no established location where people should return them. Because some people park them in badly lit places or behind obstacles, it could be difficult to spot them. Furthermore, it is against the law to park an electric scooter overnight in public spaces.
So if you need to make a late trip to the grocery store, you will have to walk or take the car. Owning an e-scooter solves this problem as you can use it without any time restrictions and it will always be available as long as you don’t forget to charge the batteries.
Having this type of reliability will give you more comfort and stop you from losing your temper when you need to find a way to get to your destination fast. Additionally, it saves you the time that you would spend walking to the closest scooter that is available for rent.
It is safer
Riding an e-scooter is pretty easy if you have a bit of experience with two-wheel vehicles. After you get accustomed to it, it could be easier than riding a bike as you don’t have to pedal or shift gears.
The scooters from each company could operate a bit differently. So you might need some time getting a feel for the rented scooter before you can drive it confidently. If you own a scooter, you don’t need to worry about how rental scooters have different commands.
Only after a few days of using it, you will know how to drive over a bump or how soon you should brake. You will quickly get accustomed to it and will be able to keep yourself safe when riding it around.
Furthermore, you don’t need to worry about a previous customer damaging a scooter and leaving it behind for others to use later. You will detect by yourself any possible issues with your scooter and notice when it requires maintenance or service.
Easy to take care of
Some people believe they will need to spend a lot of time or money to fix the scooter. So they prefer to rent an e-scooter whenever they need it instead of buying a scooter. The truth is that electric scooters require very little maintenance. A bicycle could be harder to maintain and repair than a scooter.
There are only a few of the scooter’s components that you need to keep your eye on. The battery, brakes, and tires need to be checked every month. The engine and the driving belt require an inspection every 6 months.
There is some necessary maintenance such as cleaning the brake disc or replacing the belt. But it is not overwhelming in terms of time and money and can be done with little mechanical skills.
It makes you spend more time outside
Nowadays, we spend most of our time cooped up inside. In general, we are sitting in the office working or hanging out with friends or family inside of our houses. So we end up spending almost 90 percent of our time indoors.
Owning a scooter will give you a reason to spend more time outside and it could motivate your children to go outside and get a healthy appreciation for nature. Even if you are not making a lot of effort when riding a scooter, it will add some healthy habits to your life.
Easy to store
It doesn’t matter what vehicle you are buying. It could be a car, a motorcycle, or even a bike. For every one of them, you need a place to park it safely. Storing a scooter doesn’t take a lot of space. You just need an empty corner or a small closet to keep it out of your way.
The fact that scooters are foldable helps a lot. You can ride it to the train station and take it with you or put it into the car’s trunk. Also, you can take it inside the office when you get there. Since scooters weigh about 20 pounds, you can easily carry it and charge it while you are working.
You can customize it
Almost every rental scooter looks the same and you must return it in the same condition. If you own a scooter, you can do whatever you like with it. You can put stickers on it, have it painted, or whatever crosses your mind.
Why you should rent a scooter
If you need a scooter twice a week, there is no point in paying $700-1000 for a scooter as most of the time it will just sit around your place.
Almost no responsibility
If you decide to use the renting service, the scooter’s maintenance is not your responsibility. The renting company should make sure the scooters are at excellent functional capacity. Another advantage of using the sharing system is that you don’t have to charge the battery. This saves you time and saves up on electricity.
Nevertheless, you should check that everything is alright with the scooter before riding it. Give it a quick look around to see if you can safely ride it in case the previous customer didn’t report the scooter’s damage.
You can try several models
There are multiple renting companies so there are different scooter models for you to try. You can ride a new model when you rent one since you can check on the app what scooter is available close to you.
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