Uber acquires electric bike share company
The move to buy Jump comes weeks after one of the company's self driving cars hit and killed a cyclist in Arizona
Popular transportation, ride-hailing and food delivery tech behemoth Uber have purchased electric bike share company Jump as first reported by the BBC. The move may soon mean that Uber users will be able to rent pedal assist electric bikes through the app.
When Uber was launched it offered ride-sharing for its users who could summon transportation via the app. They expanded into food delivery with drivers and cyclists able to complete food deliveries to customers. It’s since expanded to hundreds of cities worldwide. Owning a fleet of electric bikes is just another way Uber intends to give its users options to move around cities.
Jump was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York City. The company currently has operational fleets of pedal assist electric bikes that users can rent through an online platform in Washington, D.C. and San Fransico. Jump has also launched bike-sharing systems with regular bikes in 40 cities.
The bike share schemes users can locate and unlock bicycles through their smartphones. Built-in locks allow users to then lock the bikes to a rack when they have made their trip. Many bike share schemes in Canada use docks where riders need to return the bike. Jump’s system is dockless meaning users don’t need to return the bikes to a specific location.
To hire a Jump electric bike costs two U.S. dollars for 30 minutes. Each additional minute after that costs seven cents.
Uber’s plan is to scale Jump’s operations globally. “We’re committed to bringing together multiple modes of transportation within the Uber app – so that you can choose the fastest or most affordable way to get where you’re going, whether that’s in an Uber, on a bike, on the subway, or more,” said Dara Khosrowshahi Uber chief.
The move to acquire the Jump comes weeks after a self-driving Uber struck and killed a 49-year-old pedestrian walking a bike across the street in Tempe, Arizona in March. Critics said the death is proof Uber’s self-driving car technology is flawed not being programmed with enough care to prevent such collisions with vulnerable road users. As a result, Uber suspended its self-driving car trials.
