The GPS isn't going to be much use once it's taken out of the bike, which is presumably no harder than with any other dockless (or even docking) hire bike. But I'd have thought collecting them all in for recharging is the biggest logistical problem. Presumably they'll have some sort of van which they can charge them in while they ferry them to wherever.
I assume someone rocks up in a van, removes the bat flattery and slides in a fully charged one, leaving the bike where it is unless it needs repairing or re-locating to somewhere less stupid. The great thing about e-bikes (and electric motor scooters[1], for that matter) is that the batteries are small enough to do that with.
[1] Which I believe are a thing in ABROAD, where the FOREIGNS have less restrictive licencing requirements for users of low-power motorcycles.
We have Lime E bikes in Milton Keynes and I think that's the current situation here now. But the idea is to have an e cargo bike loaded with batteries to do battery replacements. I know this because I (and Bikeabilityman) signed up to ride the cargo bikes and replace batteries. The Lime HQ fro Milton Keynes is about half a mile from my home.
However, they cost £1 to release and IIRC 15p per minute to ride, which makes them about the same cost as a bus. Plus they seem to reside at local shops and the town centre. Just as with the Santander hire bikes, if I wanted to use one, I'd have to walk about half a mile , probably in the wrong direction, to get to a bike or walk over half way to the town to pick one up on the way at the train station. It's only a quarter of a mile to the bus stop and the bus costs the same as a Lime.
I signed up via an agency to ride the e cargo bike a few months ago and haven't heard from them yet. I heard from Bikeabilityman that he was on standby to replace batteries but has never been called out because the bikes aren't being ridden. That does seem to be the case. I see more Santander hire bikes ridden and they aren't ridden all that much. It's about 25 out of 75 if I encounter a Lime bike being ridden on my travels and even then, I'm probably being generous. I rarely see 2 being ridden. I wonder if they get stolen as well because I've seen one with the front light not working. The Santander bikes do end up going rogue. I've even seen one parked outside the tent of a homeless person, which I thought was good. At least the homeless can have a free bike!
I think they're partly too expensive and also need to be located around housing estates more, though that could mean some ending up in garages and homes where they can be fettled so that the GPSs and security can be removed....
Shame, I was looking forward to riding around Milton Keynes on an e cargo bike and getting paid for it...