Uber acquires Jump, a dockless e-bike share company
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Apr 10, 2018
Most famous for its ride-sharing taxi service, Uber has diversified into virtually every automotive-based industry imaginable, from self-driving cars to freight trucks and flying taxis to food deliveries.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (who took over after the exit of the beleaguered Travis Kalanick) confirmed that the transportation company is purchasing Jump, a San Francisco start up, for an undisclosed amount (TechCrunch believes the amount could approach $200 million).
Riders will be able to find and book a Jump pedal assist electric bike directly from the Uber app.
"There's an opportunity with e-bikes to bridge the gap between bikes and cars", Jump CEO Ryan Rzepecki said in a statement earlier this year.
JUMP offers a dockless electric bike service within San Francisco and Washington.
David Bailey, a professor at Aston Business School, told the BBC: "Uber is looking at this partly because it is fast growth area but it is also looking forward to a time when we won't own cars".
Even as Uber is backing away from some global markets, the Jump acquisition shows the company is still willing to invest in new ways to reach customers.
"Our ultimate goal is one we share with cities around the world: making it easier to live without owning a personal vehicle", Khosrowshahi wrote.
Didi said it would start off with a auto service, but according to Reuters, it is also considering allowing users to hire motorcycles and bikes.
With the addition of bicycles, Uber is taking a page from the playbook of competitors such as China's Didi Chuxing. Dockless bikes have appeared in many other cities and, as riders can leave them anywhere, challenge the likes of London's Santander Cycles or New York's Citi Bikes which must be returned to designated docks.
Rzepecki said his firm's choice to join Uber was driven by a desire to have a bigger, faster impact on urban transit.
Now Jump and its fleet of e-bikes (in January the company launched 250 of the bikes into San Francisco with rides for $2 for 30 minutes) is officially part of Uber, pedaling Uber away from exclusively cars and driving to get around. However, some cities have complained that dockless bikes have become a nuisance, clogging sidewalks or left damaged in odd locations. Now, Uber says it plans to buy the company behind the bike-sharing service and bring that capability to other cities around the world.
E-bikes seem likely to become a much more common sight on city streets.
