The scooter could figure it out without an internet connection and sending location data back to the mothership. The OP asked why they had GPS at all - I was responding to that.

And I mostly agree. In an ideal world, Jump/Bird/etc wouldn't need a constant stream of data to locate their scooters. But, I don't see them getting away from at least having real-time data when a scooter is parked, for service/charging and theft prevention/recovery.