Estimate e-scooter rental costs.
Shared scooters price in two parts: a fixed unlock fee and a per-minute rate. That structure penalises short hops heavily — on a three-minute ride the unlock fee can be more than half the cost, which is what the unlock share makes visible. It also means the cost per ride is highly sensitive to delays, since traffic lights and detours are billed at the same rate as movement. Weekly and monthly rollups are where regular users usually get a surprise: eight rides a week at four each is close to a transit pass.
Per ride
Cost per ride = unlock fee + rate per minute x ride minutes
Rollups
Weekly = per ride x rides per week; monthly = weekly x 52 / 12
They typically waive the unlock fee rather than the per-minute rate, so the saving scales with how many separate rides you take rather than how long you ride. Compare the pass price against the unlock share shown here times your weekly rides.
Because billing is by elapsed time, not distance. Traffic, a slow zone or hunting for a legal parking bay all add minutes, and most riders underestimate their real ride duration by a third.