Ather Energy, Bounce join hands to monetize the idle time of scooters

Tiger Global and Hero Motocorp-backed electric scooter company Ather Energy has joined hands with dockless shared mobility firm Bounce for ‘peer to peer’ (P2P) scooter sharing programme. The partnership 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.

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.

“This partnership with Bounce allows our owners to decrease their overall cost of ownership and break even on their investment faster,” said Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy. “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 programme,” he said. 

Ather has introduced new post-purchase plans (Ather One), customized for the sharing model - including a new service and maintenance plan which will address the wear and tear of multi-rider usage. Although, unlike traditional two-wheelers, with the connected features on the Ather 450 and real-time diagnostics, owners can understand the safety of their vehicle in a better manner. They will be able to monitor the health of the vehicle and its usage via the Ather mobile app. These scooters will also be eligible for free fast charging at 38 Ather Grid points, for one year and will be delivered with a portable charger that can be used at any 5A plug point, anywhere in the city.

The pilot programme for his initiative was launched in Bengaluru this month. The Ather 450’s purchased via Bounce’s website can be booked for Rs 499 and will be delivered on priority basis post the lockdown once deliveries resume.

“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,” said  Vivekananda Hallekere, co-founder and CEO, Bounce. “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.”