Chennai, NFAPost: Electric vehicle manufacturer Ather Energy has joined hands with Bounce, the fastest growing dock less shared mobility player for their ‘Peer to Peer’ (P2P) scooter sharing programme.
To help COVID-19 frontline workers like healthcare workers, delivery partners, Bounce had introduced ‘ScooterHero’, a P2P initiative, where individuals could rent out their vehicles directly during the lockdown. Taking the P2P programme a step further, the partnership with Ather enables new Ather 450 owners to monetise 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 programme. 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, a release said.
Ather has introduced new post-purchase plans (Ather One), customised for the sharing model – including a new service & 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 rest easy as their vehicle is safe. 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 has been launched from May 2020, in Bengaluru. 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.
Ather Energy CEO and co-founder Tarun Mehta 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 programme.”
Bounce is the first dockless mobility solution. Founded in 2014, by Vivekananda HR, Anil G and Varun Agni, this Bengaluru based startup aims to decongest the roads by encouraging commuters to choose public transport and provide a seamless first/last mile connectivity. Prior to the lockdown, Bounce did about 1,30,000 rides on a daily basis. With strong presence in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the company looks to expand to other cities as well.
Bounce CEO and co-founder Vivekananda Hallekere said, “The current way of owning a vehicle and using it only for few hours a day puts a lot of stress on the entire eco system including parking. Bounce brings in trust to enable people share assets. During times of COVID-19, when public transport won’t be ideal, driverless solutions will help move people. It will also enable people to generate cost from existing assets.”
Founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta, and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy is backed by the founders of Flipkart -Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal- Hero Motocorp and Tiger Global. Ather Energy launched the country’s first electric scooter – Ather 450 in 2018, followed by its new flagship offering Ather 450X, the super scooter in 2020. Ather has also installed a comprehensive public charging network, Ather Grid, designed and built in India. With 38 charging points in Bengaluru and 14 charging points in Chennai, Ather Grid is one of the largest fast-charging networks for electric vehicles in the country.
Ather Energy currently operates in Bengaluru and Chennai, and in 2020 will expand to 8 more cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
