Bengaluru's Bounce becomes world's fastest-growing bike-sharing start-up

Bounce on Tuesday said that it has reached a significant milestone of 60,000 rides per day in Bengaluru, making it the fastest-growing bike-sharing start-up in the world. Within 10 months of launching dockless scooters in Bengaluru, the firm has completed over five million rides, covering 30 million km.

The company, which was valued at over $220 million in June this year after raising $72 million in a funding round, said that it is scaling on par with global players, including US-based scooter-rental companies Lime and Bird.

"We are absolutely stoked by this milestone. This feat would not have been possible without the contribution of each and every member of the Bounce community, both employees and users alike," said Vivekananda H R, chief executive and co-founder of Bounce. "We are steadily on our way to democratising mobility in India and making Bengaluru a public transport society," he added.

According to the Transport Department, Bengaluru is home to over 7.6 million private vehicles, as per a 2018 report. With the introduction of last-mile bike sharing, the usage of public transportation has seen a steady increase. Bounce's 60,000 rides per day milestone was achieved with around 7,000 dockless scooters covering an average distance of 7-8 km per ride. The company said it also remains one of the most affordable modes of commuting, offering users rides at Rs 5 per km. 

"I have always believed that last-mile connectivity is going to be a game-changer in addressing urban traffic issues and enable a smooth transition to public transportation," said N Murali Krishna, special officer at Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT). "This achievement of Bounce within a short span of time stands a testament to the viability and acceptance of shared mobility," he added.

Bounce's parent company, Wicked Ride, was founded in 2014 by Vivekananda H R, Anil G and Varun Agni. Its app allows the users to pick up a scooter and drop it at any legitimate parking spot. The firm said accessibility and affordability have made it one of the "preferred" modes of transport, both for first- and last-mile connectivity, as well as regular commute. The company has plans to introduce over 50,000 vehicles during the current year.

Start-ups addressing short-distance transport have taken the mobility space by storm recently, most notably with the rise of bike and scooter firms, according to research firm CB Insights. It said bikes and scooters, which allow people to easily move shorter distances, can help commuters access public transport hubs several miles away. 

Approximately 42 per cent of Bounce rides either originate or culminate at metro stations, which means roughly five per cent of all metro commuters use Bounce as their preferred mode of commute for first- and last-mile connectivity. Bounce said it has also been empowering women, who constitute more than 25 per cent of its users.

In June this year, Bounce's rival, Vogo, raised Rs 25 crore as debt from Alteria Capital. Last year in December, the firm formed a strategic partnership with Ola, where the ride-hailing giant will boost Vogo's supply by investing in 100,000 scooters on the Vogo platform, worth $100 million. Its offerings will be available for Ola's customer base of over 150 million, directly from the Ola app.