“Green” alternative: what is profitable to replace a car in an era of gasoline shortage

Even problematic situations can be considered to your advantage. The shortage of fuel in Ukraine may become an opportunity to switch to “green” transport.

Electric scooters and bicycles can serve as an alternative for city residents who travel by car from home to work, for a walk, to visit or shop. The editors of Segodnya spoke with representatives of several such services and found out whether rental services are provided in wartime conditions.

Where is rental available?

As the director of Veliki.ua said Alexey Kushka, rental of electric scooters is available now in Kyiv, bicycles – in the capital and Odessa. In Kyiv, they can be rented at VDNKh (Glushkova St., 1) and in the village. New Petrivtsi (residence Mezhyhirya). The peculiarity is that the transport will have to be returned to the same point where they took it.

Tariffs after February 24 did not rise. You can rent a bike for half a day from 300 UAHfor 1 hour – from 100 UAH Take an electric scooter for 30 minutes 150-200 UAHfor 1 hour – from 250 UAH

According to Oleksiy Kushka, more and more Ukrainians are now starting to use bicycles and electric scooters as transport.

“Renting a bicycle is even more profitable than an electric scooter, because it costs less, and “gasoline” is your legs. Whether there is electricity or not, you sit down and go,” said the director of Veliki.ua.

The electric scooter needs to be charged, so it is somewhat limited in range. Depending on the type and type of battery, a full charge may last for a distance from 10 to 40 km.

Head of Sharing Services Development at Bolt in Ukraine Anton Milka reported “Today” that the rental of electric scooters was resumed in two cities – Kyiv and Lvov.

There are 1000 units of such vehicles available in the capital, and in the future their number will increase. There are currently 500 scooters available in Lviv, but their work will be suspended in the next few days as work continues to restore electricity. Approximately in 2 days the service will be available again.

“When you go to the Bolt app and choose scooters, you are automatically shown a map where there are electric scooters. Since the resumption of the scooter season in Kyiv and Lviv, thousands of people have used them,” explained Anton Milka.

He added that compared to 2021, the cost of the trip was reduced by 35%. Now unlocking costs 5 UAH, and trip – 1.5 UAH / min. Due to the shortage of fuel in Ukraine, the company does not plan to change prices.

“Traditionally, in the spring, when the weather in Kyiv becomes warmer, we see a trend towards choosing an electric scooter instead of a car,” Bolt said.

What is more profitable?

Let’s simulate the situation to evaluate the advantages of each mode of transport. For example, from the Kyiv International University in the Svyatoshinsky district to the Globus shopping center on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, you need to overcome 14 kilometers.

Conditional route in Kyiv / Photo: screenshot

On average, the journey will take about 20 minutes. Suppose that a car consumes 0.14 liters of gasoline per 1 km. Therefore, a trip to the center will cost 1.96 liters. The average cost of A-95 on the market on May 5 is UAH 36.22/l, and A-92 gasoline is UAH 35.12/l. So that the driver will spend approximately 68-71 UAHto get in one direction, and up to 150 UAH in both directions.

If you use an electric scooter with per-minute billing, this will be approximately 35 UAH per trip. Of these, 30 UAH is a 20-minute drive, and another 5 UAH for unlocking the transport. When using a subscription, for example, for an hour, it will turn out to be even more economically profitable. If the cost of an hourly bike rental costs UAH 100, then you can go back and forth approximately UAH 50 cheaper than by car.

Of course, these calculations are quite approximate, since different cars consume different amounts of fuel. Also, the pricing for electric transport rental varies in companies and cities. However, the advantages of riding a scooter or bicycle are that:

• this transport does not harm the environment;
• allows you to be outdoors;
• and in the case of a bicycle, also keep the body in good shape.

Fuel shortage in Ukraine

In early May, prices for gasoline, diesel and autogas jumped sharply in the networks of Ukrainian filling stations. Some types of fuel in some networks are becoming more expensive, somewhere they are getting cheaper. The average cost has decreased A-95+ for 4 kop. – is now being sold for 37.84 UAH/l. For 12 kop. fell in price A-92, a liter of which is sold at an average price 35.3 UAH Decreased by 24 kopecks. autogasthe average price of which is 30.71 UAH/l.

At the same time, they sell a little more expensive A-95, a liter of which is sold for 36.22 UAH on average, which is 13 kopecks. more than before. For 9 kop. the average price has risen dieselwhich is now evaluated by 40.76 UAH/l.

In the capital, drivers report that large chains have introduced customer identification with discount cards. And if the driver refueled at one of the gas stations, then he will not be able to refuel at another for some time. So, the WOG network sells 10 liters per day only for those who have a PRIDE loyalty card. The rest of the gas stations are ready to sell 15-20 liters per person.

The Verkhovna Rada assures that the difficult situation with fuel should disappear in a few days, although car owners will definitely expect a certain rise in price. While there is a shortage in the country, scammers have become more active – Ukrainians are being sold expired fuel coupons and diluted “shmurdyak” instead of normal gasoline.