Uber buys e-bike sharing company
JUMP Bikes provides a dockless electric bicycle sharing system that operates in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. By acquiring the company, Uber will be able to offer U.S. passengers an alternative to cars.
According to Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, the deal furthers the company’s goal of providing “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.”
In January, JUMP bikes integrated its service with Uber’s smartphone app in San Francisco, enabling users to find one of JUMP’s bicycles by opening the Uber app. According to reports, the existing JUMP app will continue to be available.
“We’re excited to begin our next chapter,” says JUMP CEO Ryan Rzepecki, “and to play a significant part in the transition of Uber to a multi-modal platform [and help] shift millions of trips from cars to bikes.
JUMP was founded in 2010 as Social Bicycles, and is part of the bike-sharing industry that began in Asia. Its GPS-enabled bikes are unlocked and locked using a smartphone app, and, because they are dockless, they can be left at any public bike rack.
In addition to Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, the company plans to soon operate in other U.S. cities, including Sacramento, and Providence, Rhode Island, and has applied for a permit in New York City. It also operates via third parties in 40 other U.S. markets, and is interested in deploying its bikes in Europe as well.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although it is expected to close “in the coming weeks.” About 100 JUMP employees are expected to join Uber as part of the deal.
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