Volume 7, Issue 2: Fall 2011
Motorcycling Consumption: A First Look at Peer-to-Peer Motorcycle Renting
Diego Varela
As a relatively young
motorcycle rider, I have seen the motorcycle industry’s decline in recent
years, mainly in western countries such the US and Europe. There is no doubt
that the recent economic turmoil has helped fuel this decline, but there is
also evidence that something has changed within the industry that we cannot
ignore, which has more to do with the overall alignment between motorcycling
and the people’s needs (particularly those of newer generations).
The negative image of
motorcyclists and motorcycling (reckless riding, drink and riding, road
accidents, environmental impact on CO2 emissions, etc.), and the cost and
economies of motorcycling are currently two of the main barriers to
motorcycling adoption. In Europe, governments have also made it more and more
difficult for people to get their licenses and to ride motorcycles.
As a motorcycle lover and
rider, one of my biggest passions is to generate debate and discussion around controversial
topics, in this case the sustainability of motorcycling. I believe in
motorcycling as a way to experience life and as an activity that should be
preserved.
I have chosen peer-to-peer
motorcycle renting, as it is a concept that no doubt will be with us soon, and
that could address some of the factors affecting younger generations,
particularly the cost and the environmental concerns of? motorcycling.
The success of this concept is based on rational factors: cheaper and cleaner
motorcycling. However, we must not forget that emotional and other “irrational”
elements need to be considered when discussing the potential adoption of this trend.
In trying to provide
support for the factors that, I believe, are important in judging whether this
concept will succeed, I have chosen the car industry as an example, in those
cases where there is not relevant literature in the motorcycle world.
The Costs of Motorcycling Today
From the moment we enter
the world of motorcycles, and even before we do, we go through a transformation
process. This process involves fantasizing about the motorcycle, the ride, the
landscapes and the roads and the people we will ride with. The degree of
intensity of these emotions and feelings varies from person to person and this,
to some extent, is the best measure of how attached we are to our “toy.”
Despite their dreaming and
fantasizing, motorcyclists today are faced with a new socio-economic reality. The
cost of living has risen exponentially. From food, to education to electronic gadgets,
everything continues to put pressure on our wallets.
In addition, motorcycle
manufacturers have fallen into the inertia of developing and building bigger,
“better” and more expensive motorcycles year after year. The larger engine sizes
and high-tech features, such as GPS devices and ABS braking systems, have made
motorcycles as, and sometimes even more, expensive than cars.
Faster and more powerful
motorcycles, combined with untrained riders and alcohol, have increased the
number and seriousness of motorcycle-related accidents. As a result, the cost
of insurance has also increased. Governments, in trying to stop people from
getting into motorcycling, are making the test more difficult and more costly.
Motorcycle parts and accessories/clothing manufacturers have created a whole
industry around motorcycle related products, which only adds to the overall
cost of ownership.
Additionally, motorcycles,
as cars do, contribute to the pollution of our atmosphere through CO2 emissions.
The exponential growth of motorcycles around the world, added to increases in
engine size and power, has given the motorcycle a significant role in polluting
our planet. For some this represents a concern and therefore a barrier to
adoption motorcycling. A strategy that would significantly reduce the number of
motorcycles on the road, while still allowing people to ride, would perhaps
make environmentally concerned individuals think about it twice.
In summary, riding a
motorcycle today, however small, is not cheap, neither for the rider nor for
the environment. The bigger and more powerful the motorcycle,
the more the costs.
Motorcycles, Emotions and Feelings
Referring to automobiles, Mimi
Sheller has argued, “Car consumption is never simply about rational economic
choices, but is as much about aesthetic, emotional and sensory response to
driving” (Sheller 222). I think we can draw a parallel with motorcycles and
riding. Indeed, there seems to be much more of an emotional connection between
motorcyclists and their bikes than with cars.
There is no doubt that
when we talk about motorcycles, emotions always play an important role. Having
worked in several research projects throughout my career, I have seen people
going from smiling to jumping to arguing (and sometimes crying) in a matter of
minutes while talking about their relationship with motorcycles.
For some riders,
motorcycles only represent a functional vehicle that takes them from point A to
point B. A motorcycle or a scooter is something that saves them money, that
reduces the commuting time or that makes parking easier. However, even in those
cases, I would argue there is some of sort of emotional response to riding, not
necessarily in a romantic sort of way but perhaps more attached to the
adrenaline rush or thrill derived from riding as opposed to driving. There are
certainly exceptions to every rule, but we are not going to discuss those here.
It has been proven that
emotional responses configure consumption decisions: “Pleasure, fear,
frustration, euphoria, pain, envy; emotional responses to cars and feelings
about driving are crucial to the personal investments people have in buying,
driving and dwelling with cars” (Sheller 224). With motorcycles, as with cars, there
is an “emotional investment” that cannot be underestimated. This emotional
investment drives how attached we are to our motorcycles and what they mean to
us.
As powerful as advertising
from manufacturers can be, the thrill coming from riding a motorcycle, the desire
for rebellion and freedom, and the passion for collecting motorcycles, are not
driven by advertising imagination. These are feelings and emotions generated
strictly by our interaction with motorcycles.
But with emotional
investment come additional complications. As Sheller argues, “Emotional investments in the car go beyond any
economic calculation of cost and benefits, and outweigh any reasoned arguments
about the public good or future of the planet” (236). Does this emotional
attachment to our motorcycles prevent us from renting them or sharing them with
a “stranger”? This—and other related questions—will be addressed in
the sections below.
The Car Industry: Do Motorcycles Always Follow?
Since I first joined the
motorcycle industry, right after college, I have noted the similarities between
the motorcycle and the car industries. They have always shared history when it
comes to trends. I have heard this statement many times: “The motorcycle
industry is like the car industry but 10 or 20 years behind.” Examples of this truism
can be found in safety features (ABS, airbags) first available in cars and then
motorcycles, manufacturing systems, supplier-manufacturer relationship
development, etc.
I am going to use an
example of a relatively recent development within the car industry that could well
transform the motorcycle industry in the coming years: the concept of
peer-to-peer car rental services. This concept differs from the already
existing car (Zipcar) or motorcycle (Jupiter) sharing
services in that these companies do not “sell” a share of ownership of a fleet
vehicles (they own) to individuals, but instead, enable a platform for people
to rent out a share of a vehicle that they own but they are not using much or
at all. (I am not going to go into the technological details of how this
happens, as I feel that the mechanics, although interesting and intriguing, are
somewhat irrelevant for the purpose of this paper.)
A number of companies
already enable peer-to-peer car rentals over the Internet and through smart phones
in California. On the other side of the pond, Whipcar has seen significant
growth over the last two years. Thousands of people are renting their cars out
for hours or days for cash. As these companies state, the target of their
services are the people whose cars are parked and not being used 90% of the
time. In 2010, there were in excess of 500,000 members of car sharing programs
(Shaheen and Cohen, 2010), which are typically more
expensive and limiting than peer-to-peer car renting, the concept I am elaborating
on with this paper.
Some of the barriers to
the adoption of the peer-to-peer concept in the car industry are lack of trust,
fear of damage and/or theft, etc. Obviously we would not want anybody to damage
our car or misuse it, so we can understand the initial reluctance to embrace
such a service. However, these companies have obviously anticipated this and
have put the mechanisms in place to address these fears. From insurance to
background checks to rules for those with a driving record that could represent
a risk for the owners of the vehicles, they have managed to, at least
apparently, lower these barriers and get people to try it. This was not an easy
task since, in the case of California, it involved
changing the law around personal vehicle insurance to guarantee that the
owner’s policy would not be void when an individual rented his vehicle to other
people.
Another mechanism to
create and galvanize trust over time includes using online reviews for both the
owner and the renter. Services such as Ebay or Amazon.com have benefited from
the addition of this feature to their services, to the point that there are consumers
who would not buy anything from a seller that does not have a minimum number of
good reviews.
The Concept of Motorcycle Peer-to-Peer Renting: Benefits
and Drawbacks
But would people feel as
comfortable about renting their motorcycles to other people as they do their cars?
At the end of the day, we motorcycle riders all know that riding a motorcycle
and driving a car is not the same thing. The skills necessary to operate a
motorcycle safely are significantly more complex than for driving a car.
Although there are a lot of bad drivers on the road, they have the luxury of
being protected inside that “box.” Motorcyclists don’t.
If we think of it in
purely rational terms, we can pretty much assure that the numbers in terms of
cost and utilization would be worse. On that basis alone, a much stronger case will
need to be made for motorcyclists than for drivers to adopt the peer-to-peer
concept.
However, being able to
ride other people’s motorcycles would mean that we could have different
experiences, try different types of motorcycles in a very inexpensive way and
without the hassle of ownership. Wouldn’t that be appealing?
From a behavioral
economics perspective, we also know that “people only change behavior if they
are motivated to do so, and different people have different motivations and
different biases that cause or prevent such behaviors” (Young and Caisey 136). When it comes to people’s perceptions about whether
motorcycling is a costly or polluting activity, we need to consider making
other rational arguments.
Some motorcycles,
especially the lower engine displacement ones, are hands down more economical
and less polluting than cars. They can be used for short, easy trips and for
most day-to-day activities. This is where the motorcycle shines when it comes
to environmental friendliness.
However, there are also
other motorcycles that may be better than cars on gas mileage, but may be as bad
for the environment, and sometimes even worse, than cars when we put all the elements together
(tires, parts, etc.).
This is where the concept
of peer-to-peer motorcycle renting can shine. Why would someone want to own a
motorcycle if s/he is only going to use it a few weekends a year? Wouldn’t it
be much easier and cheaper to rent somebody else’s?
While there might be
strong arguments to defend the adoption of the peer-to-peer concept, there are
still elements that are purely individual to each of us. Despite the
generic “benefits” of adopting such a concept, each of us will adopt
it (or not) in our own way.
But one real question
remains: is the emotional attachment to our motorcycles so strong that not even
the rational arguments can convince us to rent or share our beloved “toys” with
strangers?
Motorcycle Peer-to-Peer Renting: Could this Work?
If we take the car industry
as an example, we could assume that indeed this concept could work. With the
right mechanisms in place (insurance, background checks, etc.), a service like
this could succeed. However, we should not underestimate the impact of the emotional
attachment we have to motorcycles, which is as powerful, perhaps more powerful,
than rational appeals. Would this work for everybody who has a motorcycle
parked in the garage and not in use? Of course not.
As useful as it was to use
the car industry example, a more in-depth analysis of the benefits and
drawbacks of this concept for motorcycles is necessary.
This could potentially involve a study to gather data from motorcyclists.
For now, I guess we can
wait and see what happens as new companies enter this segment of the market
that, no doubt, is set to change the way we consume motorcycles in the near
future.
Works Cited
Maxwell, Simon. “Negotiating Car Use in Everyday Life.” Car Cultures. Ed. Daniel Miller, Oxford:
Berg, 2001.
Motavalli, Jim. “How to Rent Your Car for Fun and Profit. Mother Nature Network, June 1, 2011.
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/blogs/how-to-rent-your-car-for-fun-and-profit
Niedermeyer, Edward. “Are You Ready For: Peer-To-Peer Car Rentals?” The Truth About Cars,
June 8, 2011.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/are-you-ready-for-peer-to-peer-car-rentals/
Sheller, Mimi. "Automotive Emotions:
Feeling the Car.” Theory, Culture and
Society 21.4/5 (2004): 221-42.
Young, Stephen and Vivienne Caisey. "Mind
Shift, Mode Shift: A Lifestyle Approach to Reducing Car Ownership and Use Based
on Behavioral Economics and Social Marketing." Perspectives in Public Health 130 (May 2010): 136-142.
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