Cheap Monthly E-Bike Rentals Just Launched in Philadelphia

An example of the kind of e-bike you can rent from Whizz. The e-bike rental company just came to Philadelphia (photo courtesy Whizz)

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Cheap Monthly E-Bike Rentals Just Launched in Philadelphia Thanks to Whizz

A New York-based startup called Whizz is aiming to be the biggest player in the monthly e-bike rental market, saying they expect to have 40,000 e-bikes in New York by 2027. And Whizz just opened an office in Philadelphia, providing monthly e-bike rentals that start at $159 per month.

You can, of course, already rent e-bikes in Philadelphia. But those services are geared at tourists, who might use the e-bike for a few hours. There’s also Philadelphia’s Indego bike-share service, which does have an e-bike option. But if you use the Indego e-bike a lot — like if, say, you’re a food delivery driver, which is the type of customer Whizz heavily markets to — those IndeGo charges would rack up quickly. Plus, you can’t bring an Indego bike home with you. The company requires you to return their bikes to the Indego stations.

Here’s how the Whizz e-bike rental works.

You download the Whizz app and pick which monthly e-bike rental package you want. The basic bike is $159 per month with a battery that is said to last up to eight hours on a single five-hour charge. The next level up sports a battery with a longer range, of up to 12 hours. That will cost you $199 per month. And then there’s the $259 monthly plan, which includes an extra battery, backpack, lock, helmet and protection plan. According to Whizz, the fastest speed attainable on one of their e-bikes is 25 miles per hour.

Once you’ve picked your subscription level, you need to upload photo ID and provide a credit card or debit card to the company to complete the deal. After you’re approved — Whizz does a little background check on you — you can pick up your e-bike at the Whizz office in Old City. A delivery option is also available.

Now, you might be sitting there asking yourself, “Why would I rent an e-bike for a month when I can just buy one?” Well, for one thing, maybe you’re not sure you actually want to plunk down a bunch of cash on an e-bike that you might decide you’re not a fan of. A friend of mine recently spent $500 not on an e-bike but on an electric scooter and quickly had buyer’s remorse. He told me that he felt like riding an electric scooter around the crazy streets of Philadelphia was going to shorten his life-span. Whizz requires you to rent the e-bike for a month, but after that you can cancel and not owe them another cent.

Also, there are plenty of people out there who might not be able to afford to buy a quality e-bike (plan on spending $1,500 and up) right this second. So Whizz will rent them one and give them the ability to earn money doing deliveries. That is, essentially, the Whizz pitch. The e-bikes are also outfitted with GPS trackers and can be shut down remotely by the Whizz office, should your rental go missing.

An Axios article says the Philadelphia Whizz office opens on Monday. But a Whizz representative I spoke with told me you should be able to rent a Whizz e-bike in Philadelphia as early as Friday.

Be safe out there and always — always! — wear a helmet.

From the Department of Oops

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