Anyone who wants to drive through the city quickly, quietly and without exhaust fumes gets on an electric scooter. In many cities there are already several providers from whom vehicles can be rented for a minute price via app. The company Dance promises its users even more. In addition to their own scooter, they also get a concierge for a monthly rental. WELT tested the service.
The way to the dance roller is short. After an app has been loaded onto the smartphone, the user in Germany chooses from the cities of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Other locations are to follow. Then there is a selection of accessories, currently these are a helmet, a luggage box and a long-distance battery. But all of this is only optional. Finally, users have to decide for at least one month or one year, the monthly rent is then 119 euros or 79 euros.
Dance then brings the electric scooter to the front door. However, the address must be in the business area of ??the provider. A delivery date can be limited to three hours. The waiting time is currently almost two weeks. In the test, the scooter was brought to us in a small truck. The driver checks the identity card and driver’s license and also takes care of the briefing, which takes about 15 minutes. That was it already.
The Niu NQi Sport model is delivered, a reliable scooter with a top speed of a good 45 kilometers per hour. It can be driven with a normal driver’s license. With the standard battery, the range is a good 40 kilometers, the long-distance battery lasts around 70 kilometers. It can be removed from the scooter and recharged from a normal socket within seven hours. The charger is of course included. There is space for two people on the scooter.
Dance’s offer is particularly suitable for all those who want it as easy as possible and don’t want to worry about anything, including insurance, because this is already taken out with the delivery and is part of the rental. However, the strength of the offer only shows when there is a problem with the scooter, i.e. when it is stolen or defective. Dance will then take care of it within 24 hours and deliver a replacement or repair it directly at the user’s site.
In our test, we had a flat tire and were able to book a repair directly via the smartphone app for the following day. In practice, however, Dance only repairs small things on site, such as a damaged mirror. We were immediately brought a completely new scooter. However, the truck did not take the scooter with the flat tire with it, a colleague was supposed to do that.
That’s what happened, suddenly the old scooter was no longer in its place in front of the house, but we still had the key and the charger. There seems to be a communication problem here. However, the concierge can be reached quickly via WhatsApp via the app in order to solve such problems.
Conclusion: The service of Dance is comfortable, they make it as easy as possible for the users. Of course, comfort is included in the rental price. The scooter retails for around 2700 euros. After three years, the subscriber has paid this sum as rent. If he chooses the Flex tariff with the option of canceling monthly, the scooter is paid off after just under two years – but not ownership.
When it comes to extras, users should calculate carefully. The monthly rental price with a helmet increases by ten euros, and the top case also costs ten euros extra. If you buy a new helmet or top case, you pay less than 100 euros in stores. So it’s hardly worth it. Dance charges an additional twelve euros per month for the long-distance battery.
The smartphone app from Dance is disappointing. Only the repair can actually be commissioned here, because the online connection to the scooter is missing. The manufacturer Niu shows what is possible with its own app, which cannot be used with the dance rollers. The driving statistics, the remaining battery range and the exact location of the scooter can be read there. In addition to electric scooters, Dance also offers e-bikes for rent.
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