The thriving trend of Ride-Hailing Paves the Way for Bike Rental Franchises

From daily commuting to recreational purposes, renting a bike has become a convenient option for people for a lot of reasons. The bike rental market in India is thriving at a CAGR of 7% between 2017 and 2021. The statistics clearly shows that the bike rental businesses are on the verge of becoming a billion dollar market, and the players involved in the industry are seeking great business potential in the future.

The bike rental industry is catching the eyes of investors and is paving the way for bike rental franchise brands as it is a low-cost business opportunity and has a huge potential for investors. Let’s deep dive and find out what factors are making bike rental franchises lucrative for investors and franchisors.

Growth Drivers

The concept of bike rental is very niche; it has been evolved over time as the current circumstances favoured its existence in a lot of ways. Following are a few reasons why bike rental services are witnessing growth:

Increased Traffic: One of the primary reasons as to why bike rental is creating its own niche in the market is the increased traffic congestion due to substantial rise in the population. The growth of population is an unstoppable phenomenon, and with more and more people, there will be more and more vehicles, and hence there would be more traffic. And in our fast-paced lifestyles, no one can afford to be late, in any sense for that matter. So, consumers are opting for options that can help them in avoiding the hassle, one of such options is renting a bike.

Bikes are handier than cars when it comes to penetrating the traffic, and renting a bike is much more cost-effective. So, consumers are showing interest in bike rentals, hence the businesses are flourishing.

Increased Interest in Road Trips:  Another reason for the growth of bike rental market is the growing interest of tourists towards road trips. The modern-day tourists, especially youngsters, are more interested in hiring bikes to explore new places rather than hiring a car. This is because of the thrill and adventure that the bikes provide to the explorers, which is not given to them by any four wheelers.

Another thing that attracts tourists towards hiring bikes is the affordability factor. One can easily afford a two-wheeler in a range of Rs 3000-8000 for a trip to any hill station. So, tourism becomes much more affordable with bike rental services, and demand is increasing.

Penetration of Technology: Technology Technology is yet another growth driver for the bike rental services and creates a very substantial impact. Technologies have made the process of renting bikes very streamlined.

There are many brands that are using technologies such as data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning etc to enhance customer experience to create their niche in the industry.  These technologies make it easier for customers to select the bikes, choose affordable rides, and set their other preferences as per their convenience, which is making the industry boom like anything.

Booming E-bike Market: With the sudden boom of electric bikes, e-bike rental business is yet another attractive business idea among entrepreneurs and investors. E-bikes are promoting environment conservation and many consumers are willing to give their share to the environment conservation as they prefer e-bike rentals. Talking about the Indian automobile industry, e-vehicle market is on a higher side, so e-bike rental has a good future ahead.

Taking Franchise Model for Expansion

Franchise has been one of the most effective routes for expansion for most business ideas. With so many factors going in favour of bike rental services, it’s high time that franchise brands should disrupt the market to reap the benefits of the skyrocketing growth of bike rentals.

As a business model, bike rental franchise can be a profitable business opportunity, seeing the extravagant potential that the bike rental service holds. Bike rental brands should look for franchising route for expansion as it is a cost-effective method of expansion and ensures brands to grow faster in lesser time. Brands like ‘Rent a Bike’ and ‘Dos Wheeler’ have already taken franchise route to meet the rising demand.

With an amalgamation of a high-potential business model and a cost-effective expansion model, bike rental franchise becomes a lucrative platform for entrepreneurs to venture in.

Typical Franchise Requirements

Investment: Rs 5-10 Lakhs

Area: 200-400 sq ft

Expected ROI: 20%