Looking for input on a buisness venture I am considering

Would you rent an e bike at a port you are visiting

  • Would not use

    Votes: 4 16.7%
  • People who want that option prefer to own it

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Would use it for a day

    Votes: 16 66.7%
  • Would rent one for an extended time 3 days to a week

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Total voters
    24
There are mo such rentals here now , uber et al because there us not the population to support it , the cities and towns here around southern Georgian bay are population 20000 and less . So no worries about the big guys any time soon

I think that is your problem. The population is too small (market) and the season too short.
 
Here is an example of a bigger operation in our town. It is pretty popular. If you look thru the web site you can see they have a lot of corporate sponsors which might be a good idea in your area to help fund the start up and advertising revenue.

https://www.pacersbikeshare.org/
 
I think that is your problem. The population is too small (market) and the season too short.
I'm not into it as much for income other than gas money for my boat and am going to start small half dozen bikes to keep investment down until I see how it goes. If I could get rad pwer to live me a commission on bikes sold from customers experiencing one I think I could generate a decent amount in a season , combined with rental income it might b ok for a part time gig. I already live within my means so every little bit helps
 
My thoughts...

Marinas should provide a low-cost / free solution for transportation. Most of the ones I've traveled to have a loaner car or bikes.

From a business perspective, it seems like a lot of potential headaches with little upside....Repairs / flat tires / rust / theft / I would think most things would have to go very right to make money. How many do you think you could rent a day? 10? 5? 40?
Planning on starting small 6 bikes
 
You're asking for thoughts, so put the numbers out.

Bikes: 6
Cost each:?
Locations:?
How do you track:? (gps costs)
How long is your season?
Did you discuss with marinas on storage or are you planning on delivering each bike?
Fuel cost to deliver or are you riding the bikes over and walking? If so, how do you deliver two or more?
Insurance?
Do you know how to repair and keep in perfect shape or are you outsourcing?
Do you have the time to do the management?
How will you handle payments?

It's a fairly unsophisticated business with no real barrier to entry. So you could easily have a go at it...

I really think it boils down to how many bike hours or days you can estimate and if the marinas will be responsive.

BTW - I like the cross-promotion / advertising approach. If you could get a business to buy the bike and they can put their logo on it, that's a win-win...I would see if there's an angle for that...

https://firmbee.com/freebies/templates/template788

I would start with a real estate company that does rentals as well as sales.
 
I’ve used the electric scooters down in Washington DC a few times. Super convenient and very cost effective.
If you could get a good price on half a dozen bikes and figure out a way to keep track of them on GPS and keep charging them up during downtime it might be worth a little side business.
Probably best if you could tie it in with service and sales of the bikes themselves and have some safety items available for sale or rent for those who don’t come prepared.
 
HT, let me make a suggestion that would take you in a completely different direction and I'll tell you where my idea comes from.

Last summer my boat was broken down in a small town (pop ~15,000) along the Columbia River. While there, several times we utilized a local taxi company, appropriately named "3 Dollar Taxi" to get around town. It was owned by a couple who had several employees who drove for them. They owned a fleet of a few older mini vans and would take one or more people anywhere in town for three dollars. If your pickup was on the way they were going to drop someone off, they'd pick you up along the way. If you wanted to go out of town they had reasonable fares for many nearby towns.

Their taxis were busy almost non-stop from about breakfast time to well after dinner.

The neat thing about it was you called one number, gave them your name and pickup location and destination and you'd be next in line for the next available taxi.

Different from your original idea but it worked very well for one couple.
 
HT, let me make a suggestion that would take you in a completely different direction and I'll tell you where my idea comes from.

Last summer my boat was broken down in a small town (pop ~15,000) along the Columbia River. While there, several times we utilized a local taxi company, appropriately named "3 Dollar Taxi" to get around town. It was owned by a couple who had several employees who drove for them. They owned a fleet of a few older mini vans and would take one or more people anywhere in town for three dollars. If your pickup was on the way they were going to drop someone off, they'd pick you up along the way. If you wanted to go out of town they had reasonable fares for many nearby towns.

Their taxis were busy almost non-stop from about breakfast time to well after dinner.

The neat thing about it was you called one number, gave them your name and pickup location and destination and you'd be next in line for the next available taxi.

Different from your original idea but it worked very well for one couple.
We have something similar in Indy where the cabs downtown charge $5.00 to take you anywhere downtown. We are a million people and I always wondered how they made money.

I would think a car would run you $8/hr for depreciation, maintenance, gas and insurance if running 2,000 hours/year, 25k miles. Then you have the driver that today probably wants $15/hr... Now up to $23/hr.... So, in my town almost 5 passengers per hour (12 minutes max per passenger) to break even, 8hrs a day, 5 days a week all year.

I just don't get how you make a respectable profit...
 
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They have these all over Seattle. They get 15 to 20 dollars a day depending on the company. Lyft and E Bikes are just 2 off the top of my head. We travel there about once a year and I thought what a cool idea. I would think boaters would carry their own bikes aboard for just this thing.
 
At that price it would not be viable , i was thinking 150 per week or 45 a day so pretty far apart there, they cost similar to a kevlar canoe and you wont find one of those for 15 bucks a day anywhere

E-bikes around here rent for $70/day and $265/week. Crappy commuter bikes rent for $40-$50/ day or $170 for the week. Your price point is more than fair.
 
HT, let me make a suggestion that would take you in a completely different direction and I'll tell you where my idea comes from.

Last summer my boat was broken down in a small town (pop ~15,000) along the Columbia River. While there, several times we utilized a local taxi company, appropriately named "3 Dollar Taxi" to get around town. It was owned by a couple who had several employees who drove for them. They owned a fleet of a few older mini vans and would take one or more people anywhere in town for three dollars. If your pickup was on the way they were going to drop someone off, they'd pick you up along the way. If you wanted to go out of town they had reasonable fares for many nearby towns.

Their taxis were busy almost non-stop from about breakfast time to well after dinner.

The neat thing about it was you called one number, gave them your name and pickup location and destination and you'd be next in line for the next available taxi.

Different from your original idea but it worked very well for one couple.
Yeah not for me I want to rent out and promote e bikes not be a taxi driver . That's a market that is truly saturated with uber.
 
E-bikes around here rent for $70/day and $265/week. Crappy commuter bikes rent for $40-$50/ day or $170 for the week. Your price point is more than fair.
Alit of people who've never ridden or owned a quality e bike dont see the value and are still of the buy a cheapie at Walmart mentality. Surprisingly many that hold those opinions dont hesitate at all spending 100s of thousands on boats, cars and the latest gadgets for them and still see bikes as low value or things kids, poor people and drunks use to get around on.
Fortunately things are changing
 
No way in heck I'd rent a bike for 45$ a day. My 2cents.
Are u kidding me you have a boat that costs more than my house , your fiel burn costs that per hour and your slip likely costs more than double that per day, people are strange that's for sure.
These are.not your Walmart kids bikes.
 
We are a family of 6. $270/day to rent bikes is lunacy. That is more than my daily slip. I've been to campgrounds that rent golf carts for $45/day. In our area, I've not been to a marina yet (OK, Escanaba might qualify) where everything wasn't within walking distance to the marina.

I'm smart with my money, that's why I can afford all you said above. I'll walk.
 
Are u kidding me you have a boat that costs more than my house , your fiel burn costs that per hour and your slip likely costs more than double that per day, people are strange that's for sure..

I think to your point we all have things we think is a waste of money whether it's $5 or $500 no matter what your income, net worth is... My trigger is rental golf carts on PIB.... $135 overnite is daylight robbery
 
Alit of people who've never ridden or owned a quality e bike dont see the value and are still of the buy a cheapie at Walmart mentality. Surprisingly many that hold those opinions dont hesitate at all spending 100s of thousands on boats, cars and the latest gadgets for them and still see bikes as low value or things kids, poor people and drunks use to get around on.
Fortunately things are changing

Intersting. Can’t believe anyone couldn’t appreciate the difference in ride between say a Canadian Tire 50lb pos vs a (much more expensive) 20lb Cannondale of the same variety for example. Everything about the ride is so much better on the more expensive model. But hey ..I’m the guy that takes 50k rides in the mountains behind my house, so maybe that’s just me.
 
We are a family of 6. $270/day to rent bikes is lunacy. That is more than my daily slip. I've been to campgrounds that rent golf carts for $45/day. In our area, I've not been to a marina yet (OK, Escanaba might qualify) where everything wasn't within walking distance to the marina.

I'm smart with my money, that's why I can afford all you said above. I'll walk.
Hey we all get to choose where we spend our loot , I will rent to people who want to get out and explore the sights and trails that are otherwise inaccessible to them. I use my e bike exclusively, no car and am a single parent of 2 boys under 6 , you likely wouldn't buy a bike for 2000 bucks either while for me it was the best money I ever spent.
Picture is us
Set for our morning daycare commute and glad I didnt have to walk
 

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Hey we all get to choose where we spend our loot , I will rent to people who want to get out and explore the sights and trails that are otherwise inaccessible to them. I use my e bike exclusively, no car and am a single parent of 2 boys under 6 , you likely wouldn't buy a bike for 2000 bucks either while for me it was the best money I ever spent.
Picture is us
Set for our morning daycare commute and glad I didnt have to walk

Love the photo! Ready to roll!
 
Hey we all get to choose where we spend our loot , I will rent to people who want to get out and explore the sights and trails that are otherwise inaccessible to them. I use my e bike exclusively, no car and am a single parent of 2 boys under 6 , you likely wouldn't buy a bike for 2000 bucks either while for me it was the best money I ever spent.
Picture is us
Set for our morning daycare commute and glad I didnt have to walk
You Southerners... And I used to own a Trek.
 

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