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Your calculation is completely off. 150 min * 0.15 $/min = $22.50. In the US you can get a kWh for about 12 cents. That means you can get 187.5 kWh. The largest

Your calculation is completely off. 150 min * 0.15 $/min = $22.50. In the US you can get a kWh for about 12 cents. That means you can get 187.5 kWh. The largest Tesla Model S has a 100 kWh. I don't know what kind of battery these scooters have, but I am sure it's not nearly as big as a Tesla battery.

masklinn 8y ago
> I don't know what kind of battery these scooters have, but I am sure it's not nearly as big as a Tesla battery. 280Wh. They have nowhere near 6h range either, the machine is advertised for a range of 18.6 miles and a top speed of 15.5, though it has regenerative braking which can improve the range a bit. It's a pretty standard Xiaomi M365: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076KKX4BC/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076KKX4BC/
- Tepix 8y ago
  Their actual range is around 20km (12.5 miles).
makomk 8y ago
The electricity costs aren't the problem, the big cost here is paying people to collect the scooters up and charge them. As the article points out the cost of electricity makes up such a tiny amount of this cost that it's not even worth calculating.
- bigiain 8y ago
  There's another important task they do though - they collect them up from random locations, charge them, and then drop them off at pre determined locations, "nests". I reckon the bicycle ride rental (no it's not "sharing"!) companies would be less hated here if they had a crew of teenagers making good pocket money returning all the out-of-the-way (mostly at-the-bottom-of-hills) bikes to locations where people expected/wanted to rent them...
- pwg 8y ago
  And, from reading the article, the cost of the electricity comes out of the "finders fee". So those that charge them receive $5-$20 each, minus their cost of electricity to recharge them. So if most scooters only receive the $5 "finders fee" then Bird is paying a flat $5 per scooter for finding, recharging, and returning the scooters. It costs $1 to 'unlock' and $0.15/minute after that. So a $5 payment requires: 1 unlock $1 and $4.00@0.15/min = 26.7 minutes of "usage" (note, not ride, usage, the 0.15 is paid per minute that a user has the scooter "unlocked") before the $5 "finders fee" is repaid by one scooter and one rider. The numbers shift of course if the same scooter is "unlocked" by plural individuals during the day, due to the $1 unlock fee. Five usages of a few minutes each for a single scooter in a single day repays the $5 "finders fee" just with the $1 unlock fees alone.
  - jaclaz 8y ago
    >And, from reading the article, the cost of the electricity comes out of the "finders fee". So those that charge them receive $5-$20 each, minus their cost of electricity to recharge them. To be picky, since these chargers/gathererers are largely teens living with their parents, the cost for recharge comes from the household utility bill (not paid by the kid). Surely it is a trifling amount, but to it you must sum the miles with the car/minivan used for the search and pickup (which costs is as well at least partially subsidized by the parents).
    - mmt 8y ago
      > Surely it is a trifling amount, but to it you must sum the miles with the car/minivan used for the search and pickup I suspect the cost of driving easily overshadows the cost of electricity, considering that even inflated California electricity rates price a kWh (of which these scooter batteries hold about one quarter) about the same as the incremental cost of driving one mile. Whether it's trifling depends on how far they have to drive for each scooter. That cost is sunk if they "recover" it or not, unlike with the electricity. According to the article, the company has made it a bounty-hunting model, so even if the total area is only a few miles across, just getting there is no guarantee.
  - jiveturkey 8y ago
geezerjay 8y ago
> Your calculation is completely off. Ah, someone complaining online how some random person's back of the napkin calculations are off. Let's see if the nitpicker has a case. > 150 min * 0.15 $/min = $22.50. So, let's actually do the math: * $24/0.15 = 160 minutes Wow. Completely off.

masklinn 8y ago

> I don't know what kind of battery these scooters have, but I am sure it's not nearly as big as a Tesla battery. 280Wh. They have nowhere near 6h range either, the machine is advertised for a range of 18.6 miles and a top speed of 15.5, though it has regenerative braking which can improve the range a bit. It's a pretty standard Xiaomi M365: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076KKX4BC/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076KKX4BC/

Tepix 8y ago
Their actual range is around 20km (12.5 miles).

makomk 8y ago

The electricity costs aren't the problem, the big cost here is paying people to collect the scooters up and charge them. As the article points out the cost of electricity makes up such a tiny amount of this cost that it's not even worth calculating.

bigiain 8y ago
There's another important task they do though - they collect them up from random locations, charge them, and then drop them off at pre determined locations, "nests". I reckon the bicycle ride rental (no it's not "sharing"!) companies would be less hated here if they had a crew of teenagers making good pocket money returning all the out-of-the-way (mostly at-the-bottom-of-hills) bikes to locations where people expected/wanted to rent them...
pwg 8y ago
And, from reading the article, the cost of the electricity comes out of the "finders fee". So those that charge them receive $5-$20 each, minus their cost of electricity to recharge them. So if most scooters only receive the $5 "finders fee" then Bird is paying a flat $5 per scooter for finding, recharging, and returning the scooters. It costs $1 to 'unlock' and $0.15/minute after that. So a $5 payment requires: 1 unlock $1 and $4.00@0.15/min = 26.7 minutes of "usage" (note, not ride, usage, the 0.15 is paid per minute that a user has the scooter "unlocked") before the $5 "finders fee" is repaid by one scooter and one rider. The numbers shift of course if the same scooter is "unlocked" by plural individuals during the day, due to the $1 unlock fee. Five usages of a few minutes each for a single scooter in a single day repays the $5 "finders fee" just with the $1 unlock fees alone.
- jaclaz 8y ago
  >And, from reading the article, the cost of the electricity comes out of the "finders fee". So those that charge them receive $5-$20 each, minus their cost of electricity to recharge them. To be picky, since these chargers/gathererers are largely teens living with their parents, the cost for recharge comes from the household utility bill (not paid by the kid). Surely it is a trifling amount, but to it you must sum the miles with the car/minivan used for the search and pickup (which costs is as well at least partially subsidized by the parents).
  - mmt 8y ago
    > Surely it is a trifling amount, but to it you must sum the miles with the car/minivan used for the search and pickup I suspect the cost of driving easily overshadows the cost of electricity, considering that even inflated California electricity rates price a kWh (of which these scooter batteries hold about one quarter) about the same as the incremental cost of driving one mile. Whether it's trifling depends on how far they have to drive for each scooter. That cost is sunk if they "recover" it or not, unlike with the electricity. According to the article, the company has made it a bounty-hunting model, so even if the total area is only a few miles across, just getting there is no guarantee.
- jiveturkey 8y ago

geezerjay 8y ago

> Your calculation is completely off. Ah, someone complaining online how some random person's back of the napkin calculations are off. Let's see if the nitpicker has a case. > 150 min * 0.15 $/min = $22.50. So, let's actually do the math: * $24/0.15 = 160 minutes Wow. Completely off.