Why Electric Scooters Won't Last

The craze of electric scooters was one of the biggest of 2019, but this trend will likely not last. Simple analytics show that these scooters aren't bringing in the companies enough money to cover their costs. 

This new form of ride-sharing is extremely unsustainable, unlike its car counterpart. When considering unit economics, the revenue of each scooter, these products are not covering their costs. The unit economics for e-scooters are especially bad due to their lifespan which comes out to be a little under a month. When scooter can take a pretty limited number of trips, the companies are not making up the difference in the costs of the scooter before it is no longer useable. 

When experts calculated the average costs and profits of the scooters the numbers showed major losses. With each scooter making on average $2.32 each day and the average lifespan being 28.8 days, each scooter produces a profit of around $67 over its lifetime. When these companies are paying approximately $360 per scooters they are accumulating debts rapidly. These numbers don't even take into account the fees that companies have to pay the city for every scooter they install. 

Overall, electric scooters are not viable economically and companies will soon have to change direction. The idea of a city-friendly ride-sharing innovation was good in theory but does not work in reality.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/12/18307591/electric-scooter-sharing-bird-lime-uber-economics-big-picture

https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-than-a-month-louisville-data-suggests/