Do you ever find yourself stuck in traffic inside a cab? All you want to do is to get out of there and go home but you can’t. Suddenly, a person zooms right past your cab on an e-scooter gliding through the traffic like water. Yup, that’s micromobility transportation for you. A market with volume of USD 101.02 billion in 2023; is expected to grow about 13% by 2032. However, when starting a micromobility business you will face the cross road of E-scooter vs E-bike: what to choose for your business? Let’s talk more about it in this blog. 

What Is It About E-Scooter Vs E-Bike? 

Micromobility is one of the fastest-growing industries. Global warming and inflation have made it difficult to ride an owned vehicle in peace. Traffic jams in rush hours make the situation even more tiring. So, renting and riding an e-scooter or e-bike saves time, money, and nature. Therefore, if you want to start a business that will give you higher ROI, a ride-sharing business is perfect for you! 

But wait, when we say ride, there is a big confusion most business owners and entrepreneurs face. It is the good old E-scooter vs E-bike, which one to choose? It is one of the tricky questions one needs to clarify to plan a business. So, let’s understand the elements of the electric scooter vs electric bike conflict. 

What is E-Scooter?

An E-scooter or electric scooter is a two-wheeled small scooter running on electric motors. Although it looks like a kick scooter, it is indeed an electric scooter that starts by unlocking it and pressing buttons on the controller. Furthermore, they have a speed of 15-20 mph to help you travel through the city. Additionally, when one thinks of starting a ride-sharing business, the e-scooter might take a bonus point for their affordability.

Read our blog on how to select the right e-scooter for your scooter sharing business. 

What is an E-bike? 

An E-bike or electric bike is a bike with an electric motor assisting in pedaling or driving the bike. It is the best vehicle to travel long distances and swim through the traffic. They are perfect for driving on rough patches or hilly areas. Additionally, they have a seat to travel comfortably with a speed range of 20-28 mph. In certain situations, when you need to travel long distances, an electric bike is more useful and comfy. 

E-Scooter Vs E-Bike: Which Is Best In The Market?

Here we discuss the real-time market scenario to evaluate the electric scooter vs electric bike situation. 

E-scooters have been raised as one of the favorite modes of transportation due to their flexibility and aesthetic appeal. The electric scooters look a lot like the kick scooter making it nostalgic. Additionally, the small and simple structure of the e-scooter makes it much more preferable for traveling short distances. Therefore, it is expected to witness a CAGR of 10.53% between 2024 to 2028. Additionally, it is expected to have a user penetration of 1.8% with a $20.05 per user revenue. 

E-bikes are one of the most comfortable personal modes of transportation. It offers you the freedom to go anywhere without any discomfort of driving the vehicle. The electric bikes make riding easy and allow you to enjoy the surroundings. Thus, the industry has witnessed a great boom after the pandemic with a value of $2.1 Billion in 2021. It is expected to grow with a CAGR of 18.5% from 2022 through 2031.

Bike sharing is expected to dominate the micro-mobility market due to the ease of accessing the vehicle. Furthermore, the comfortable bike and the reliability do give it a brownie point. But, scooters are preferred for short-distance travel. 

E-Scooter Vs E-Bike: What Is Suitable For Your Business?

Now, we know the basics of E-scooter vs E-bike and its market trends. Let’s talk about what is best for a few possible business ideas. 

For public sharing

Public sharing is one of the most common types of business one can run. All you need is a fleet of micro-mobility vehicles (like an e-scooter or an e-bike), a ride-sharing software to manage your operations, and a team to maintain the fleet. So, if you have all of these you can easily start a public sharing riding business and earn hefty ROI.

E-scooter is good if you want to start a small business covering a small area. So, for short distances electric scooter would do the work and provide a smooth riding experience. However, if you want to provide a vehicle rental service for long-distance travel across the city or states electronic bikes would be much better. 

For last-mile delivery 

Delivery service is yet another service that needs good quality transportation, especially on the last mile (final delivery to the destination). The traffic and big vehicles on the road can slow down the delivery time and require more capital. Therefore micro-mobility vehicle allows the delivery person to move swiftly through the town to make quick and more deliveries. 

E-scooters make it easier for short-distance travel or food delivery. Additionally, the electric scooter allows you to move through the narrower lanes and reach the location faster. But, if you are delivering to faraway locations, an e-bike is a much better, cost-effective, and comfortable alternative. It offers more control and ease of moving on the road. 

For employee commute 

Offering your employees an easily accessible commute option helps them save energy and time. Therefore, more corporate offices are offering micro-mobility to their employees. 

E-scooters are good for traveling within the premises in the case of medium-sized production houses. It is perfect for those who live near the office or want to have lunch near the office. However, if you have a big production house, an e-bike is better with its comfort and speed. 

For campus commute 

Students take varying classes throughout their course. Moving on the campus from one building to another can become a little tricky and time-consuming. Additionally, it can drain students’ energy to attend the class and get the best out of it. Therefore, providing students with a micro-mobility traveling option can be a great investment. 

E-scooters are perfect for traveling within the campus comfortably. However, if the students want to travel outside the campus for any reason, the e-bikes will be a better choice. 

For resorts and tourism 

Tourism is one of the most profitable businesses. Resorts and hotels now offer traveling options to their guest to move on the premises of the resort and into the town. Thus, the visitors feel at ease and can travel as per their plans without worrying about the commute. 

E-scooter is perfect for moving around in the resort. Whether it’s to the swimming pool, game area, or sitting area in the fancy resort, the e-scooter is the perfect choice for such short distances. However, when visitors want to explore the city, an e-bike is convenient and easily accessible. Thus, it is understandable that 57% of tourists prefer to explore the city on rental bikes (source). It gives them control of where to go and what to do in the city. 

For residential complex 

By offering a commute you can increase the value of your property. You can offer a commute to the residence to access common amenities in the complex, nearby areas, or even for commuting to their jobs. 

E-scooters are perfect for moving around in the resident complex or running errands from the nearby streets. However, when commuting to a job or longer distances, an e-bike is much more preferred by people. 

E-scooter vs E-bike: How squillion tech can help you? 

Squillion Tech is a scooter sharing software development company. We also offer bike rental software to enable business people to easily manage their operations. Our software allows users to book, lock unlock, and pay for their rides using a white-label app. Therefore, the software offers a complete solution for you to kickstart your micro-mobility rental business. With our team of tech experts and testimonials of our customers, we have been able to prove to be the best service provider for mobility software solutions. 

The following are a few features of our mobility software that stand out among the others:

  • Customized mobile app for the users 
  • Dynamic pricing for the renting 
  • Personalized features on the app 
  • Tool to find nearby e-scooters and e-bikes 
  • Dispute settlement window for complaint management 
  • Secure payment gateway integrations 
  • Group ride or booking option
  • Advanced analytical tools for admin
  • Third-party integrations 
  • Telematic vehicle tracking system 
  • Geofencing to guide the user 

Along with our software, we help you find the right micro-mobility vehicle that fits your business model and kickstart your bike or scooter-sharing company. Additionally, we help you select the best e-scooter and e-bike to improve user experience and boost your business. Our team of experts will help you at each step, contact us to know more! 

Conclusion

When you want to start a micro-mobility sharing or rental service you will be facing a cross road: E-scooter vs E-bike. Both E-scooters and E-bikes have their pros and cons. Therefore, you need to consider what your business goal is and the use of the e-scooter or e-bike. An electric scooter is like a kick scooter but with motorized tools. Thus, it allows one to travel through the traffic due to scooters’ lightweight and smaller shape.

On the other hand, electric bikes are more comfortable with the seats and offer better control over the handles. It is perfect for traveling long distances. Based on this you can decide what fits your business: electric scooter vs electric bike.Â