[uranium]

$70 < [cost of lead-acid battery] < [cost of lithium-ion battery], so how often does a customer trade the deposit for a battery?

[ravi_b]

$70 is a refundable deposit they give us when they join us. They pay us per swap. We sometimes get customers who had their lead acid batteries stolen and who now have no money to buy a new battery. With us they pay as they earn.

[uranium]

What I was getting at was, if $70 is a lot less than a lithium-ion battery costs, do people just steal the batteries and give up the $70?

[ravi_b]

Great point. If erickshaw drivers steal the battery, we can remotely lock the battery. So these batteries will not charge or discharge and will essentially become useless. We also take documents (similar to social security in the us) from each customer before we onboard them.

[uranium]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.