The booming shared mobility industry is pretty much the certain future of how we’ll get from A to B in our urban towns and cities. Although the industry is in its early stages of mass development and car ownership still reigns supreme, the public popularity of shared transport is nonetheless increasing rapidly.
Industry players such as automakers, suppliers, and digital tech companies know how important it is to not be late starting in the rat race, and as a result, we’re seeing key players already position themselves and take charge. That’s why it’s so beneficial for business start-ups to make use of the growing market and strong investment right now!
So if you’re a keen entrepreneur with ambition and knowledge of the shared mobility industry, here’s eight of the best business ideas for you to flourish with.
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1. Truck rental
With the use of automated mobile platforms and their in-built operations, the administration of your fleet will be much more efficient and organized, in turn cutting costs and providing a highly productive way of maintaining information, scheduling pickups, and mobilizing vehicles and their drivers.
2. Peer-to-peer ridesharing
The chances are you might have already used a peer-to-peer ridesharing service as a passenger, so it’s clear the business is already thriving. In a nut-shell, ridesharing is the use of real-time mobile technology to hail a car in your proximity, also known as carpooling. This could either be sharing with fellow riders or just the driver themselves.
Usually, the fellow rider is the driver of the vehicle and is already on route to your desired location. Big players like Lyft and Uber have already implemented car sharing throughout their mobile apps and it’s a great way to offset the cost of the journey already being taken.
3. Peer-to-peer car-sharing
A similar business idea in shared mobility is car-sharing itself – because sharing is caring, right? Car sharing is basically the process of existing car owners renting their vehicle out to other drivers for a certain period of time.
To establish a running car-sharing business, creating a mobile app is a popular choice of set up, mostly for it being an efficient way to bring parties together and share data. It’s also now considered more productive to have a ‘digital fleet’ of independent participating drivers and vehicles rather than a standardized fleet of business-owned vehicles.
4. Bike-sharing
Another hugely popular shared mobility service is bike-sharing, especially in urbanized cities where' eco-friendly transport is becoming increasingly popular because of rising traffic charges and -environmental concerns. As a result, public bike-sharing businesses are booming.
Fortunately, it’s pretty simple to set up a bike-sharing business too, with the first step being the devising of a well-thought-out model and the second being the investment of your fleet. The customer market is often based around tourists and students, so be wise when setting up an appropriate marketing scheme.
5. Electric car sharing
With eco-friendly legislations around the world promising an inevitable shift to all vehicles on our roads being electric, surely electric car-sharing is one of the most prosperous avenues for businesses to venture down?
Well, if you are to set up an electric vehicle fleet, it’s important to fully embrace the green automotive market with optimism, mostly because the infrastructure of charging stations isn’t quite what it should be just yet. However, it’s clear the market interest in electric and hybrid vehicles is growing minute by minute, so be bold and know your marketing strategy inside out.
6. Scooters
Another hugely booming business is scooter-rental. Most business models for scooter-sharing will essentially be just like those for bike-sharing – starting with an appropriate and sensible plan and then investment into a fleet.
Preferably you’ll want to start your business in a tourist hub because the customer market of scooter-rental relies heavily on the interest from sightseers. Scooters are a fun alter-native to pushbikes, so perhaps consider marketing your business around the young demographic and those wanting to explore the local area.
7. Autonomous shuttles
One of the most exciting and unexpected additions to the shared mobility market is autonomous shuttles. The idea is relatively new, but numerous companies have already been hugely successful in setting up automated self-driving shuttles that act as convenient modes of transport for passengers sharing a particular route, such as a trip to the airport, a university campus, or other points of interest.
Although setting up your own autonomous shuttle business may seem like a challenging feat, experts say the use of shuttle busses in urban areas is likely to grow rapidly in the coming decades, mostly because they are an economical and eco-friendly way of transporting groups of people. Think of them as an alter-native to existing buses, but they’re also electric, self-driving, and more time-efficient.
8. Mobility for disabled passengers
To really find your niche in an ever-growing market, perhaps you can find a business path that accommodates a particular market, such as disabled passengers. This avenue must be taken responsibly and compassionately, with careful considerations put on how you’ll provide easy disabled access for those needing certain requirements and adjustments to a vehicle.
Whatever type of business idea you decide on, always take it step by step to ensure every single aspect of your plan has been thoroughly thought out. It might be useful to seek advice from a financial advisor when calculating the initial costs of your business start-up, especially when considering how many vehicles you should invest in for your starting fleet.
Most importantly, be bold and creative with your business ideas – shared mobility is an exciting industry waiting to be explored and expanded upon by budding entrepreneurs, so get some critical industry experience and remember that the world is your oyster.