Electric scooter vs e-bike, are they the same, overlapping, or complimentary?

Oscar Morgan - Bo CEO - November 2025

• The last 15 years has seen an explosion in e-bike popularity

• Electric scooters are about 10 years behind this trend

• The two vehicle types look similar, so how do their use cases fit together 
  
  

Zero ai: Bo does not use Ai to write, because we believe you’ve come here to speak to humans not Nvidia GPUs. That will mean that some of our language has errors, and we feel that’s a price worth paying. 

If we had a nickel for every time someone referred to Bo as ‘the bike’ we’d be riding gold-plated scooters. While the world has got familiar with the concept of bicycles and e-bikes, the e-scooter is lagging behind. 

For the Bo team this was no different. The first time I saw an e-scooter I was incredulous; just the word ‘scooter’ made me think of a child’s toy. I had a scooter when I was 8, and I thought it was particularly cool because it had tiny little suspension shocks… 

Truthfully, this is perhaps just a weakness in my own psychology - I may just be slow in accepting new things. Back in 2005 my Grandfather broke his town-bike, a steed that had lasted him nearly 40 years. Buying a new bike for the first time in decades was a source of great excitement, and he proudly showed me something new that he had discovered - the ‘electric-bicycle’ 

This is the sort of contraption he was contemplating buying 

Bearing in mind that this was an 85 year old man, I nonetheless mocked him so ruthlessly for the concept of buying an e-bike that it actually put him completely off the idea.

‘You’re not THAT old’ I sneered, amongst other bratty comments.

In the event it backfired on us both, as he despondently went off the whole idea of getting a bicycle and just got fatter instead.

Fast-forward 20 years and I find myself the proud owner of my fifth e-bike at the tender age of 35. The memory of my reaction to Grandad’s plan has permanently spoiled it for me, of course, but the experience is so much better than acoustic cycling that I continue all the same. 

This was a cool bike that joined the fleet in 2022 - the Cowboy 

So the biggest surprise of all - for me - has been finding that even with an e-bike in the stable my Bo has constant use. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the e-bike; to the contrary I love it. However there is a certain ease of use, a brilliance for local errands - zipping from store to store, or nipping to a coffee, where the Bo scooter is simply the best vehicle on earth.

My analysis is that the electric scooter has a convenience to it which cannot be beaten. Perhaps the right analogy would be to have a magic carpet rolled up by the front door - it is so seamless stepping on and off, so intuitive and easy to manoeuvre, that almost without thinking it becomes the default choice. 

It is inherently convenient 

When faced with removing the e-bike from the garage - wrestling it through the side gate, catching my shins on the pedals a couple of times, and hunting for the pannier bag or lock - I simply can’t be bothered for a local trip. 

As a result the e-bike finds itself relegated to filling a gap between Bo and the car. Our city centre is about 5 miles away which is 15 minutes drive on a quiet day, 45 minutes drive at rush hour, and 22 minutes cycle in any conditions whatsoever.

Also, we live in a city that loves to hate cars and has made parking as much of a nightmare as possible. That means with the smallest of provocations I am happy to hang up my car keys and take the bike. 

But for anything closer - trips around the village, meeting friends nearby or scooting to the gym - I’m a Bo rider every time. 

My conclusion, therefore, is that the ultimate set-up has different rides for different tasks. Anything locally, the scooter is champion. There is then a slight overlap, as the distances get longer and the car is still overkill - but sometimes makes sense. Obviously when I’m driving 150 miles to visit my family then the car absolutely has its time to shine. 

Small vehicles for short trips, big vehicles for long distances. Makes a whole lot of sense, on reflection.

OJM. 

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If you'd like to read about The Turbo Land-speed scooter - Link to Turbo