Businesses That Probably Did Not Expect to be Dis-aggregated By The Internet
This business in San Diego was probably just minding its own business, smug in the confidence that Internet companies like Amazon were not going to threaten a local rental business when, bam:
Bikes and scooters suddenly show up literally just sitting there on every corner, ready to be rented via smartphone app for prices starting at a dollar an hour. Interestingly, even in sunny healthy California, I saw more than 100 people riding rental scooters and about 1 riding a rental bike. This was not just tourists -- though it was certainly popular with visitors -- but I saw many young locals riding the scooters downtown to work. In the morning they piled up in front of office buildings (from which they would presumably disperse at the end of day to apartment buildings).
Below is another business that could be in trouble, charging $7 (rather than $1 on the street bikes) an hour for a rental and requiring the bike be returned to a defined location, rather than dropped anywhere (I see these in many cities -- I wonder how much investment the government has in these or if it is a concession where all the investment was private).
Of course, in the long run this may work out better from an operational standpoint because it seems to take a lot less labor. Re-positioning scooters and picking them up and dropping them off for recharge struck me as labor intensive and costly (particularly in California). I am not sure how it is sustainable at the rates that are charged. Fortunately, that is not my problem and I tried both the bikes and the scooters and enjoyed both. Despite my doubts about their profitability, I hope they are making a fortune because it seems to be a fun a popular service and I would like to see it last.
