Let’s talk about rental vs privately owned E-scooters.

I figured people would be interested in a comparison between my own electric scooter and the rental experience with Ginger in Chester, so I rocked up at the Ginger parking bay and gave it a whirl.

Using a Ginger electric scooter

Before you can go anywhere you need to download the app and register. The sign-up involves taking a picture of your driving licence, a selfie, and adding a debit card for payments. This took me roughly ten minutes to complete, but it’s a one-off process.

Next, choose your scooter. The app shows you their location and how much charge they’ve got left. You then scan the QR code and a disembodied voice in the scooter mutters something unintelligible – but you’re good to go.

The app keeps track of where you go and informs you by push notification when your status changes. Giving it back is easy enough, you park in one of the designated areas and take a photo to show you’ve left it intact and neatly parked.

Rental vs privately owned E-scooters

The Ginger E-scooters are limited to around 12mph (my Segway does 16). They have similar dimensions, so the ride wasn’t much different and felt stable and safe.

The only major downside is that the tyres are solid, not air filled. This reduces maintenance, but also means the ride is harder and noisier – you can hear your teeth rattle when you go over a few cobbles and even small potholes aren’t a pleasant experience.

Then there’s the hire cost (currently £2 for 20 minutes) – and that seems fair enough to me.

However, it does mean the payback when considering buying your own is fairly short –  buying a similar model would cost around £400 at the moment, which means if you need one for an hour a day commuting, your payback period would be around three months, which is well within the warranty provided on a new one.

For me, the convenience angle is the bigger driver for buying your own, as mine takes me door to door. I’m not having to locate one and then leave it somewhere. But of course, commuting on your own one isn’t technically legal – yet.

Would I hire again if in a strange city and without my own? Yes absolutely.

It was a straightforward enough process, cheaper than a taxi, and still a lot of fun to use! Just the job for the occasional user or tourist.

If you have any questions, please head over to our Contact page, and don’t forget that you can connect with us on Facebook and Instagram too!