Author Topic: Side hustle: charging electric scooters  (Read 2614 times)

Tass

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Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« on: March 13, 2019, 10:27:02 AM »
I just read this article where I guy claims to earn $50 a night collecting and charging scooters for Lime or Bird. I'm curious about a more detailed breakdown of time and cost (more out of curiosity than anything else). Any mustachians investigated this work?

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/13/701130673/who-charges-all-those-electric-scooters-follow-a-nocturnal-juicer

lexde

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2019, 10:28:59 AM »
I listened to that this morning! He apparently gets about $4 each and says the impact on his electric bill is negligible. I haven’t tried it, but definitely interesting to consider!

FI45RE

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2019, 10:30:44 AM »
I looked into doing it, and even applied to be a charger, but the backlist of applications was apparently miles long, since upon inquiring with Bird, they told me that thousands of people had applied for like 50 slots.

Tass

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2019, 10:34:21 AM »
I listened to that this morning! He apparently gets about $4 each and says the impact on his electric bill is negligible. I haven’t tried it, but definitely interesting to consider!

This is the part I really want more detail on. I don't trust the average person's attention to their electric bill!

Greens

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2019, 10:35:51 AM »
Bird experience - surely varies on brand/location.

I was excited to look into this too because I live next to a Bird "nest" and live in a building with flat rate for electricity use (!). I went through the sign-up process but was disappointed to learn that they wanted people with vehicles. I don't have a car.

Apparently they wanted people to haul in at least 4-5 at a time. I could've done this on foot had everyone returned the scooters to my specific location, but, the use is not established yet and are rarely returned to this pick up point.

Good luck! Seems like an easy gig if you can get it.

ohio4life

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2019, 11:08:47 AM »
I only enjoy doing it when I don't have to use a car. Walking around my neighborhood and grabbing a few in a few minutes time is no big deal and kind of fun. I even incorporated running into collecting them to get more exercise. Often the batteries are low so you can't ride them back, but they actually are quite easy to push while you run. I'm sure I look ridiculous, but I don't really care.

I haven't done it for a few months, but I was making between 4 and 15 bucks a night with minimal effort. The worst part is getting up in the morning to place them. I learned the hard way that if you drop one off at a time you can lose your dibs on a nest. I had to take them quite far from my house if I lost a nearby nest. I couldn't come up with a good work around for that. I certainly didn't want to leave them at the nest without checking them in.

If you have any questions let me know.

kpd905

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2019, 12:25:36 PM »
I listened to that this morning! He apparently gets about $4 each and says the impact on his electric bill is negligible. I haven’t tried it, but definitely interesting to consider!

This is the part I really want more detail on. I don't trust the average person's attention to their electric bill!

The scooters have a 7800 mAh, 36 V battery.  This is equivalent to 0.28 kwh.  If you pay 12 cents per kwh, charging each scooter should cost 3.36 cents.

You just have to hope that one of the batteries never starts on fire while you're asleep.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2019, 12:39:50 PM by kpd905 »

Polaria

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2019, 12:20:34 PM »
I’ve just been told today at work that in the streets of Brussels there is a fierce competition afterdark on getting the depleted scooters to put them to charge.

fuzzy math

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2019, 01:10:27 PM »
I read an article a couple months ago about people hoarding them on private land so their finders and recharge fees are higher

therethere

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2019, 01:23:51 PM »
This piqued my interest since I live downtown. I went to signup and they want a $10 deposit each for the first three chargers. So basically I'd have to work for free 3-4 nights before I can even make any money. I was interested, though I think I would give up quickly (I like to sleep in!)

PJC74

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2019, 02:50:33 PM »
seems like too much effort for the reward. Similar to picking up cans for the redemption.


Arbitrage

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #11 on: March 15, 2019, 07:47:03 AM »
I listened to that this morning! He apparently gets about $4 each and says the impact on his electric bill is negligible. I haven’t tried it, but definitely interesting to consider!

This is the part I really want more detail on. I don't trust the average person's attention to their electric bill!

The scooters have a 7800 mAh, 36 V battery.  This is equivalent to 0.28 kwh.  If you pay 12 cents per kwh, charging each scooter should cost 3.36 cents.

You just have to hope that one of the batteries never starts on fire while you're asleep.

Yep - there really is almost no electricity cost to these electric mobility devices.  I could ride my e-bike forever without really impacting my electric bill by more than a few bucks, even with very high electricity rates.  Truth be told, the running cost - and net carbon output - of a regular bike is higher than an e-bike, due to the extra food intake.  I imagine that if I ran the numbers for the electric scooter, they'd be even lower than my e-bike (which I always pedal, maybe a different story if I just rode it like a scooter), but where would be the fun in zero exercise?

EricEng

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2019, 08:20:32 AM »
The payoff for your time is awful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM6oYufB9sU


Specifically,
He made $14 net for 4 hours of work. Or $3.50 per hour.
https://youtu.be/oM6oYufB9sU?t=519

Plus you need a large vehicle to fit a worthwhile amount of scooters which means poor mileage rates.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2019, 08:22:24 AM by EricEng »

therethere

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2019, 08:57:10 AM »
I didn't watch the video. But if you live in a high demand area I would think there would be scooters all over and easy to collect. Still you're looking at a low pay. But if you could get up to 8-12 per night within 1 mile of your house I would think it might be worth it. It's the morning dropoffs that I think would be the issue. I don't want to be waking up at 5am to drop off at a close spot or driving around to drop them off in 10 different places. I downloaded the charger maps and am planning to observe them over the next week to see if it's valuable.


Just Joe

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2019, 01:37:12 PM »
Yep - there really is almost no electricity cost to these electric mobility devices.  I could ride my e-bike forever without really impacting my electric bill by more than a few bucks, even with very high electricity rates.  Truth be told, the running cost - and net carbon output - of a regular bike is higher than an e-bike, due to the extra food intake.  I imagine that if I ran the numbers for the electric scooter, they'd be even lower than my e-bike (which I always pedal, maybe a different story if I just rode it like a scooter), but where would be the fun in zero exercise?

My Kill-A-Watt meter says my ebike costs about a nickel to recharge.

Think about that. A nickel to ride 30-40 miles vs buying one or two gallons of gasoline for a car/SUV.

Technology is amazing. Too bad there aren't more ebikes and alternative transporters on the road and fewer cars and SUVs. Well, maybe not as many as China or India - but more than me all by myself... ;)

BicycleB

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Re: Side hustle: charging electric scooters
« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2019, 03:00:32 PM »
Yep - there really is almost no electricity cost to these electric mobility devices.  I could ride my e-bike forever without really impacting my electric bill by more than a few bucks, even with very high electricity rates.  Truth be told, the running cost - and net carbon output - of a regular bike is higher than an e-bike, due to the extra food intake.  I imagine that if I ran the numbers for the electric scooter, they'd be even lower than my e-bike (which I always pedal, maybe a different story if I just rode it like a scooter), but where would be the fun in zero exercise?

My Kill-A-Watt meter says my ebike costs about a nickel to recharge.

Think about that. A nickel to ride 30-40 miles vs buying one or two gallons of gasoline for a car/SUV.


Wow, I didn't realize they were so efficient. That's the first argument in favor of them that seems convincing to me.

Not sure that the systemic efficiency is anywhere near that if cars are used to drive them back to the nest, though.