The worked example
A shop with 20 bikes has 40 half-day slots a day. It is open 100 busy days at 70% utilization and 80 quiet days at 25%, so it rents 3600 of 7200 slots, 50.0% of capacity. Half days sell at $40 and full days at $65, and 45% of rented slots are full days, a blended $36.63 per slot. The 2790 rentals add $6 each in add-ons, $16,740, for $148,590 of revenue.
Staff is 2 people for 9 hours on each of 180 days at $17 an hour plus 12% extras, $61,690. Rent, insurance, marketing and other fixed costs are $28,500. Damage and theft (3%) and card fees (3%) take $8,915, tires, brakes and charging $6,480 and batteries $2,591.
The fleet must be replaced eventually, so the calculator sets aside $9,533 a season: 20 bikes at $2,200, less 35% resale, over 3 seasons. Total costs are $117,709 and the season profit is $30,881, a margin of 20.8%, or $1,544 per bike.
Start-up cost is $56,000 (the bikes plus $12,000 of racks, locks and chargers), a payback of 1.8 years. The shop breaks even at 38.2% utilization, and a 20% margin needs prices of $39.52 for a half day and $64.23 for a full day.
What if bookings fall short
With 10% fewer bookings the season profit falls to $17,821, and with 20% fewer it is $4,760. Staff and rent do not move, so a bad summer removes profit much faster than it removes revenue.
What a bigger fleet changes
Growing to 30 bikes while utilization slips to 62% on busy days and 22% on quiet days lifts the season profit to $68,778 and shortens the payback to 1.1 years, but profit per bike falls to $2,293. Each added bike earns less than the first ones, which is why the utilization you enter for the bigger fleet matters more than the number of bikes.
Common questions
How many days a year does an e-bike rental shop need to be busy?
The calculator does not assume a number: enter your busy and quiet days and their utilization, and it solves the overall utilization at which the season breaks even. Staff and rent are paid on every open day, so a long quiet shoulder season can cost more than it earns.
Is it better to rent by the half day or the full day?
A full day uses two half-day slots, so a full-day price below twice the half-day price discounts the bike's time. The calculator blends both using the share of full days you expect, and keeps your price ratio when it solves the lowest prices.
When does buying more e-bikes stop paying?
When the extra bikes are rented on fewer days than the first ones. Enter the bigger fleet and the lower utilization you honestly expect in scenario B and compare total profit, profit per bike and payback.