Most of you know that feeling, nearing the end of a night on the town and you realize your mobile phone is running on fumes and about to “die.”
You can’t use the ride-sharing app, call a cab or text a friend or family member to come pick you up.
Well, a new local company has spotted a gap in that particular panic-stricken market.
ElectricGo has already rolled out more than 120 of its small kiosks across B.C. and recently chose Legends Pub in Richmond for its maiden voyage.
Each kiosk can dispense power bars
In each kiosk is a very special power bar, which simply plugs into your phone, giving you “life” for the next half hour (at 75 cents per half hour), or for the rest of the evening, if you so wish.
And once you’re done, you just pop the bar back into any one of the ElectricGo locations.
“Imagine you drove to a location, but have been drinking. Your phone battery is dead,” explained Gury Singh, of ElectricGo.
“You can’t use the app to get a ride, you can’t call anyone. Instead of them risking drunk driving, they can use this service.
“We’re putting in about 10 to 15 (kiosks) each day.”
Where can I find a kiosk?
As well as Legends Pub, the power bar kiosks are available in Richmond at:
Juvys pub
Pioneers
Canadian Brewhouse
Wings
Monkey 9
Stanleys
Waves Bayview
Kwantlen Richmond
Fog n Sudds.
Singh said the charge maxes out at $6 per day and, if someone decides not to return the bar, they will simply be charged $49.97 after eight days, after which point the billing stops.
ElectricGo told the Richmond News that it will offer a free 30-minute trial for all new users, starting May 15.
The company also points out that, people renting power banks, cuts the demand for new ones, thus reducing waste and promoting re-use instead of single-use.
And, all of their power banks are recycled at the end of use, with the battery components separated into different end products.
You will also see ElectricGo kiosks at Rogers Arena and Parq Casino in Vancouver.
