The coronavirus has hit all manner of companies hard, but some startups are trying to come up with innovative ways to minimize the damage.
Bounce CEO Vivekananda HR has offered his company’s bikes to be used for the delivery of essential goods. “Companies into essential deliveries, you can hire people without scooters and we will offer them scooters. We have 1000 electric scooters in Bangalore and 20k plus petrol scooters. Can provide scooters across 8 cities. Write to me at [email protected],” he wrote on Twitter. He also opened up a portal where people could let their personal bikes be used for the cause. “Hey Peeps, while you’re staying at home & being a Hero, you can make your scooter also a SuperHero. List your idle bike here and help a Covid warrior in need to do his/her job. Log on to http://scooterhero.bounceshare.com and list your scooter there for offering it free or for a charge. Vivekananda HR also said that Bounce would sanitize the bikes at its own cost when scooters are being returned.
Companies into essential deliveries, you can hire people without scooters and we will offer them scooters.
We have 1000 electric scooters in Bangalore and 20k plus petrol scooters.
Can provide scooters across 8 cities.
Write to me at [email protected]
— vivek (@vivekanandahr) April 27, 2020
This would appear to be a win-win, both for Bounce and for delivery companies. Bounce’s entire fleet is currently presumably lying idle during the coronavirus lockdown, while delivery companies are struggling to fulfill the large numbers of order that are coming their way. If Bounce’s scooters could be used to help delivery companies transport essentials, it would not only help consumers, but also help companies tide over the coronavirus crisis. Bounce has already laid off 120 emplooyes during the lockdown, and the money that it’ll presumably make from the partnership can help it tide over a period when its revenues have ground to a virtual halt.
This isn’t the first time that mobility companies have come forward and offered to assist delivery companies. Uber had earlier signed partnerships with Big Basket and Flipkart, and its cars were being used to deliver orders of essential goods. Ola too has been utilizing its fleet as a mobile ambulance service, helping transport needy people to hospitals. Bounce too now has now come up with a similar plan to use its fleet. There’s only a week left of the official lockdown, but there are indications that life could take a while to come back to normal. And while the demand for their services are depressed, mobility companies are both trying to be useful and hoping to make some money as they battle the impact of the coronavirus.