[PrideRed]

Disclaimer: I am in no way related to Bounce and the below review is based as a consumer of the service.

What it is?
Two wheeler version of Zoomcar with lesser limitations.

How to book?
Download bounce app, upload your DL. You need minimum balance of 100RS in wallet. Yes Paytm is linked.
Open the app, select the scooter near you and move as guided by the map. You get an OTP in app which will help you to start the scooter.
The trunk is operated using a button and will remain active for a couple of minutes of start and end of trip.

My experience
I used Bounce thrice and the experience thus far has been a good barring few instances.

Experience 1 long duration rental(Honda Aviator)
I took a scooter for a long duration-4 days to be precise. The total fee came to around 900 plus the fuel is on me. The experience was similar to Zoomcar where I had to pick up a scooter from designated location and drop back at same location. No security deposit - needed just pay for the pre-decided amount and ride on.

Positives
1. Easy booking with minimal documentation.
2. Reasonable/cheap pricing

Negatives
1. Scooter was in average condition.
2.Drop and pick up location could have been better.

Experience 2 Keyless bikes(Honda Activa)
I had to go to MG road to take a bus since my flight got cancelled. Searched for bikes in the app and found one within 15min walking distance. I could locate the bike. As the name suggests these bikes are keyless, with no attendants. These will be parked anywhere except "no parking" spots. You get an OTP and start the bike using the same. Coming back to my experience, the scooter appeared pretty new. Entered OTP in keypad, and was able to start the scooter, only to find there is little fuel. With whatever fuel it had, managed to reach nearest fuel station only to find that there was no air in rear tire. I filled Petrol,air and ready to roll.

Bounce refunds the fuel and as of now they refund 30% extra than what you actually pay. Take a picture of fuel bill and submit in the app. I got my refund within 2 days. Pretty neat. I rode till MG rode, found a roadside parking space, parked the scooter and ended my trip. Costed me roughly 50 bucks from Marathalli to MG road, Dirt cheap and convenient.

Positives
Book it, ride it, end trip forget it.
Super convenient pickup and drop wherever you want.

Negatives
Scooter not in great condition.
Empty tank and flat tire left a bad impression.


Experience 3 Keyless bike(Suzuki Access)
After landing at Bangalore Airport, opened bounce App and they have airport ride scooters. Pickup at airport and drop at your home. Booked the scooter and in 2 minutes got a call back(No OTP this time). Bounce guy asked me to come to a pickup point and mentioned he would handover the scooter in 10 min. Had a coffee and on arriving at pickup point my scooter was ready. Suzuki access it was and had tank full of petrol. They provide extra helmet on request. By default one would always be placed in the trunk. The scooter had 3K on ODO. Rode till Jalahalli and ended trip by parking scooter outside gate. Paid roughly 200 RS.

Positives
Cheap ride, good service
Ease of dropping anywhere

Negatives
Scooter could have been better maintained.

Overall I found this to be a revolutionary service as you can pickup and drop anywhere you want to. I have seen scooters being parked on flyovers as well. Given the cheap price tag, I did not expect scooter to be in great condition anyway, but adding more scooter and bikes would probably make the service more effective. They also need mechanism to control stupid users, these guys will just ruin the scooters and business.

[hemanth.anand]

Thanks for sharing the crisp review.
I've not used Bounce but I've seen a lot of these TVS Scootys in a Metro station near my home. Bounce is erstwhile metrobikes.in IIRC

Similar to Zoomcar, however, I see our people abusing tye vehicles a lot

Lot of people ride rashly and without care...very much like ola or uber cabs.
Once I saw once scooter parked dangerously on Hosur road. On the main carriageway leaning against the barricade. Looked like the tenant had parked it and boarded a bus to Hosur
Recently I saw a person near Kunigal seated pillion wearing a bounce helmet and riding a personal scooter. Looked like the additional helmet was not returned back!

If they don't maintain the scooters I'm afraid it'll not be popular going forward.

One question...does it have GPS?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

One question...does it have GPS?

Are you talking about GPS device to navigate, similar to Ather? It doesn't. However there is a GPS device inbuilt for tracking the scooter. Every week bounce folks take a truck, track scooters,collect and relocate them.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Are you talking about GPS device to navigate, similar to Ather? It doesn't.

No, I know it doesn't.

However there is a GPS device inbuilt for tracking the scooter. Every week bounce folks take a truck, track scooters,collect and relocate them.

This was what I asked. Good to know. Do they have any speed limit controls or at least Notifications like Zoomcar?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

No, I know it doesn't.
This was what I asked. Good to know. Do they have any speed limit controls or at least Notifications like Zoomcar?

None, they actually make you ride as fast as you can. How? Their charges are Rs 5/KM + Rs 0.5/min. Faster you travel, the lesser you pay . Well on a lighter note they actually have one- the scooters are not maintained well(poor brakes,tyres) purposefully so that you don't go fast .

[Kosfactor]

Wednesday morning I was supposed to pick up a colleague from silk board but the traffic through btm showed that it's better for him to come over to Jayadeva where I am stuck in traffic.

So my friend found a bounce bike and came over quickly and was mighty impressed.

That day evening the reverse was expected, however the three bikes that were offered went on like this.

1. Empty fuel
2. Missing
3. Empty fuel

What I could gather was that whoever picks this up in the morning will use it till it runs out and leaves it wherever it's empty. The bike does not report fuel status on the app.

Lesson learned:

1.Pick them up only during morning hours.
2. Unsafe to venture into dark alleys looking for the damn scooter, can very well be used by robbers as a lure.
3. Carry 1 litre petrol to make the scooter useful when found.

[Thilak29]

I've begun to hate these yellow scooters for the unruly parking everywhere. I have even seen them parked on ring roads (Bangalore) 2 feet into the main road, some even under dark underpasses. This is turning into a nightmare unless Bounce or BTP takes notice mishaps are bound to happen.

[Akshay.Hemmady]

Is there a similar setup for Mumbai yet?

[kaushikr]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

None, they actually make you ride as fast as you can. How? Their charges are Rs 5/KM + Rs 0.5/min. Faster you travel, the lesser you pay . Well on a lighter note they actually have one- the scooters are not maintained well(poor brakes,tyres) purposefully so that you don't go fast .

There is a speed limit for the bikes mentioned. They mention a speed limit of 70 KMPH and a fine if the speed limit is exceeded. I also remember reading different speed limits for Scooters less than 100cc and for Scooters more than 100cc, but can's seem to find it anywhere at the moment.

The three times I have availed the Bounce service, it was good. Scooters were new and fuel was available. I was looking for a way to pay, apart from using PayTM but cannot find it at the moment.

The app also warns you that helmets might not be available on the bike, and this is a downer for me. On picking up the scooter, if there is no helmet, we cannot use the service!

The concept is good and very handy though.

[OrangeCar]

These scooters are nuisance to other road users, pedestrians and society at large.

They are parked randomly at intersections. A whole bunch of scooters are parked on pavements. Pavements are public spaces, they cannot be occupied by private firms to run their businesses.

Users abusing those scooters, because these scooters mean nothing to them. Jumping off from medians, riding on pavements, jumping signals, etc.

Who takes responsibility for traffic violations by its users?

And, on one evening, I was rear ended by a poorly maintained (do they come with breaks?) bounce scooter. The chap scooted away, while he said he'd park on the side and let traffic flow. Have the scooter number. Bounce doesn't care.

It is a business model that will mostly likely fail, thanks to economics (investor money will dry away soon, hopefully!). And I for one will cheer it falling!

[Funny]

I agree with Thilak29 and OrangeCar. This Bounce has become more of a nuisance for others who don't actually use them. The other day I saw BTP towing away few Bounce scooters mostly for wrong parking. I don't know who is liable for that, the user or the company, most probably its the latter since the user has already paid and left whereas the scooter which is the company's property will have to be released by paying fine to BTP. How long can this sustain? As said above, till the investor money runs out. So guys, enjoy the service as much as you can, since it will eventually die out unless they can come up with ways to tackle the wrong parking issues. I see them parked almost everywhere like side/middle of ORR, on pavements, on flyovers etc

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by OrangeCar

These scooters are nuisance to other road users, pedestrians and society at large.

They are parked randomly at intersections. A whole bunch of scooters are parked on pavements. Pavements are public spaces, they cannot be occupied by private firms to run their businesses.

Users abusing those scooters, because these scooters mean nothing to them. Jumping off from medians, riding on pavements, jumping signals, etc.

Who takes responsibility for traffic violations by its users?

And, on one evening, I was rear ended by a poorly maintained (do they come with breaks?) bounce scooter. The chap scooted away, while he said he'd park on the side and let traffic flow. Have the scooter number. Bounce doesn't care.

It is a business model that will mostly likely fail, thanks to economics (investor money will dry away soon, hopefully!). And I for one will cheer it falling!

I really understand your pain, I do. As a private vehicle owner, the drivers are a mess on the streets, but this isn't a Bounce specific problem, is it? It is a people problem.

I, for one, cheer a startup which discourages more private vehicles on the roads and provides more shared options. I don't want this startup to fail.


That said, Bounce needs to have specific drop points to ensure that this is not a menace like the rideshare bikes which were also thrown across pavements/ roads etc.


This raises the metaphysical question on the psyche of the Indian drivers.

I remember traffic police trying to enforce lane driving and then giving up. But that is a topic for another discussion.

[Maverift]

Originally Posted by Funny

I see them parked almost everywhere like side/middle of ORR, on pavements, on flyovers etc

Its become quite common sight now. I have also seen them parked on nice road, several kilometers from nearest toll booth. Not sure why someone who rented a bike and had to park it that far and how did he/she manage to get transportation out of there.

My experience with bounce has been mixed. The first 2 times were positive experiences and this had me trying them few more times which were all disappointing. In one instance I walked 15 mins and found no bike where there was supposed to be one. On other instances, I did locate the bike but there was no helmet in the boot. I dont see this catching on with the current model.

[vsathyap]

I've used bounce for a few times now and I must say that the idea is really good in a city where last mile connectivity is either by overcrowded buses or by unruly overcharging autos.

The first time I rented a scooter, the fuel was really low. As per their FAQs, I refilled at a nearby bunk and got the money refunded PLUS some bonus cashback for the effort taken to refill the scooter. It costed me a mere 45-50rs to get to my destination over 8-9km away, which would have otherwise costed me a lot more. The condition of the scooter was less than average and thats was the only thing I had to complain about.

Second time I got the scooter, it was in a really bad condition - muddy, dirty and as usual, low on fuel. Since my commute this time was rather short, I didn't bother refueling. What I didn't like again this time was the condition of the scooter - very badly abused and almost zero braking. I myself had to tighten the rear brake nut to feel safe riding it. However, my ride costed me just 9Rs. compared to a minimum of 35-45Rs if I took an Auto.

Third time, I got a brand spanking new scooter, with hardly 400km on the ODO. The scooter was in fantastic condition and was filled to the brim. Thoroughly enjoyed riding this time.

Sadly, we don't tend to appreciate or care of what is considered 'others property' whether it is the garbage mess on our streets or how we handle these scooters. Just today morning, I saw a lady throw out a Kurkure/Lays packet out of her window onto the road (and she was sitting in an XUV or Scorpio!) I cant fathom why we cant bring about a sense of community and goodwill towards one-another, but I'd digress if I continued on this thought.

Coming back to the Bounce Scooters, my observations are as follows (and somehow this has become my 'cheat-sheet' of sorts when I need a bounce scooter):

1. First, check the condition of the Scooter - Visually inspect the body for Dents and Feel the ride in terms of Bent Chassis Frame, Bent forks, wobbly tires, brakes, etc.
2. If there is no helmet in the bike, end the trip and give feedback.
3. If the scooter does not feel safe to ride due to points 1 & 2, park it responsibly and end the ride. Leave a 1 star rating and feedback about Scooter's Condition
4. If the ride is OK, check the fuel and fill up as required. The bonus cashback is a good deal anyways!
5. Bring along a scarf / Kerchief / HairCap of some sort - You dont want to be wearing those dirty helmets directly!
6. Do not try to over-speed or do stunts on these rides as we dont know what part may give away at what time - stick to safe speeds (I would not like to go above 40kmph!)
7. Provide feedback on the ride once done with the trip. Park in a reasonable place and not in the middle of a road, blocking traffic like some morons do!
   

I like the idea of Bounce - as a concept. We get to do some walking in the process of getting to the scooter and it works out very economically and saves time too (if you're not refueling that is!)... However, a lot is left to be done in terms of maintenance of the scooters. If one suffers a fall / injury or even death due to the badly maintained bikes, and given our poor consumer protection laws, we'll have no one to blame but our own luck.

[Rajeevraj]

The idea of Bounce is good. But basic common sense does not seem to exist in several customer minds. Scooters are parked all over the place randomly. The mentality of 'It is someone else responsibility so I will park where I want' seems to be high.

Yulu when they started had this feature of dropping off anywhere. But with the misuse of this feature, I think now, officially drops are allowed only in Yulu Zones. Bounce will also need to go that route I believe.