Continuing with its journey of introducing innovative ownership models to promote electric vehicles (EVs), Ather Energy has joined hands with Bengaluru-based bike-sharing platform Bounce for a strategic alliance. Bounce is India’s fastest growing dockless shared mobility player for their ‘Peer to Peer’ (P2P) scooter sharing program.
To help COVID-19 frontline workers like healthcare workers, delivery partners, or civic authorities; Bounce had introduced ‘ScooterHero’ a P2P initiative where individuals could rent out their vehicles directly during the lockdown. Taking the P2P program a step further, the tie-up with Ather enables new Ather 450 owners to monetize the idle time of the vehicle by listing their vehicle on the Bounce App for all their customers and earning an additional income. Unlike the typical dockless model Bounce offers, the P2P scooters are picked up and returned to the owner by Bounce customers.
Under the tie-up, customers can buy an Ather 450 on Bounce website and rent or lease it out on the same platform. The electric scooter purchased and rented out on Bounce will bear commercial registration. The pilot program has been launched in Bengaluru from May 25, 2020. The Ather 450’s purchased via Bounce’s website can be booked for INR 499 and will be delivered on a priority basis post the lockdown once the deliveries resume.
Confirming the partnership, Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy said, “We have always offered unique purchase models that have been designed to make ownership hassle-free. This partnership with Bounce allows our owners to decrease their overall cost of ownership and break even on their investment faster. The Ather scooters are designed on a connected and intelligent platform and the transition to a rideshare use has been seamless. The connectivity will increase the confidence of Ather owners and Bounce renters both, to sign up for the program.”
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Ather is the first brand to partner with Bounce to make their products available through this program. To opt for this model, consumers need to book the Ather 450 through the Bounce Platform and on delivery the commercially registered vehicle is ready to be listed on the Bounce app. Bounce customers will now be able to rent the vehicle for hours or days, as listed by the owner. Consumers will be remunerated by Bounce when their scooter is rented.
About the development, Vivekananda Hallekere, Co-founder & CEO, Bounce said, “ “The current way of owning a vehicle and using it only for a few hours a day puts a lot of stress on the entire ecosystem including parking. Bounce brings in trust to enable people to share assets. During times of COVID when public transport won’t be ideal, driverless solutions will help move people. It will also enable people to generate cost from existing assets.”
On its website, Bounce has clarified that although it may not charge the Ather 450 owners any fee for listing the vehicle on its P2P platform, it may charge some nominal amount after every successful ride. The Ather-Bounce offering will be operational only in Bangalore.