Sharing instead of buying – the business with motorbike sharing was booming over Pentecost – News

Sharing instead of buying: motorcycles changed hands at short notice over Pentecost. An online platform makes this possible.

«It was a lot of fun. The weather is fantastic and I want to get going again right away,” says motorcyclist Katrin Mettler. She rented a motorcycle over Pentecost. But not in the usual way from a retailer, but via the Ribe online platform. There, private individuals hire and rent out their own bikes. So does Katrin Mettler.

“I usually drive more sporty models and today I decided on something classic. The platform gives me the opportunity to choose from different models and brands,” says the motorcyclist. But you drive more carefully than if it were your own motorbike, emphasizes Mettler.

Don’t be afraid of scratches on the motorcycle

Andreas Reto Zimmermann rented the motorbike to Katrin Mettler. He has three motorcycles and rents them all online on the sharing platform. His reasoning was that he didn’t have enough time to drive on the asphalt himself. Thanks to Ribe’s cooperation with an insurance company, the vehicles have comprehensive insurance.

However, the passionate motorcyclist is not afraid of scratches, as he emphasizes: “Small things can happen and the platform covers it. But I trust the people who come here. After all, you can communicate and you also notice that you are leaving your motorcycle in good hands.” In turn, he puts the rental income into his motorcycles, explains the Aargauer.

People are happy when someone rides their motorcycle because it’s often just sitting around in the garage at home.

The idea is simple: the landlord puts his or her motorcycle online, and the renter can rent it. The website has been online for 13 months and the expectations of the start-up founders have been exceeded. More than 2000 motorcycles are available to the more than 6600 users today. The idea came about one evening over a beer. Because they are motorbike fans themselves, the Ribe founders initially offered their machines for hire.

That’s when the idea for the platform came about, says Ribe’s managing director, Kevin Bieler: “The willingness to rent out the motorcycle is very high – more than we expected, which fuels our business idea. People are happy when someone rides their motorcycle because it’s often just sitting around in the garage at home. There is less damage and they can still earn something.”

Large selection with disadvantage of the short-term nature

The landlords set the price independently. A cheap scooter costs 30 francs per day, a Harley can cost 300 francs for a rental day. Since it became clear that the weather would play along at Pentecost, bookings have increased.

“Bookings during Pentecost increased rapidly. Last week we had about 16 bookings a day. That’s a lot for May and more than we expected. With these good bookings, we can get something out of the bad beginning of May,” explains Bieler. There were a total of 63 bookings over Pentecost and 206 new users registered.

Business at Pentecost was booming. Motorcyclist Katrin Mettler sees advantages and disadvantages: «The advantages are that I have a large selection of bikes and there is something for every budget. The disadvantage, however, is the short-term nature. It could be that a landlord doesn’t see the request and you don’t get a bike at such short notice. But you will certainly rent a moped again.