Uber is joining the D.C. dockless bikeshare tryout through acquisition.
The ridesharing giant announced plans to acquire JUMP Bikes this week, according to our sister site Technical.ly Brooklyn.
JUMP will maintain its own branding, meaning the red bikes will remains. There are indications that bike locations will appear on Uber’s app.
“We see the Uber app as moving from just being about car sharing and car hailing to really helping the consumer get from A to B in the most affordable, most dependable, most convenient way, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told Techcrunch, which reported that the deal was worth close to $200 million.
Incidentally, Khosrowshahi is scheduled to be in D.C. to discuss the “Future of Mobility” with Mayor Muriel Bowser and transportation experts on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/jumpbikes/status/983342631307677696
Along with technology that allows the bikes to be secured and subsequently unlocked without a station, JUMP offers electric bikes that give a little extra pedal power. The electric motor allows bikes to travel up to 19 mph.
JUMP initially launched in the District in September 2017, and has 200 bikes in D.C. Currently, the District is conducting a dockless bikeshare pilot to gather data and test out the technology-assisted transportation. JUMP is among five bicycle companies participating. Additionally, electric scooter companies also got involved over the last couple months.
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