Uber acquires electric bike-sharing firm Jump

While no hard figures have been announced, Uber reportedly forked over somewhere in the ballpark of $100 million for the deal, according to TechCrunch. Originally founded as a bike retailer in 2010 by Ryan Rzepecki, the New York City-based company is now considering a major European expansion a year after transitioning to B2C rentals, with Mr. Rzepecki – also its CEO – suggesting that the firm will be rolling out its service in many more markets starting next year.

“Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an online post that it has reached an agreement to buy JUMP Bikes, which now operates in San Francisco and Washington, D.C”.

“Our ultimate goal is one we share with cities around the world: making it easier to live without owning a personal auto”, Khosrowshahi wrote. “In February, Jump started a pilot program for San Franciscans to use Uber’s app to find and rent Jump’s bikes”, they report.

E-bikes seem likely to become a much more common sight on city streets.

Uber’s interest in Jump is fairly obvious.

As pollution rates spiral in today’s modern cities, governments worldwide are constantly implementing schemes to try and entice citizens to make use of public transport and, in some cases, more eco-friendly options.

Dockless bikes self-lock and can be parked anywhere, rather than in a station, as Citi Bikes are.

Uber, the biggest name in the growing gig economy, claims it is a mere service provider, connecting consumers with drivers in more than 600 cities. “He also said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s leadership impacted his decision”, she writes.

Acquiring Jump gives Uber access to Jump’s on-demand e-bike data – and valuable insight into a transportation trend that is popular in Europe and Asia, but has only recently started to gain traction in the US.

For his part, Khosrowshahi expressed confidence that the San Francisco test of the Jump system is proof that the concept works.

There are over a thousand different bike-sharing companies now in operation across the world.

Taking an Uber to a transit stop may not seem feasible to those who are price sensitive, which means without a product like bike-sharing, Uber could have a hard time taking a piece of those first- and last-mile trips in a meaningful way.

Following EU court ruling on Tuesday, Uber which has been classified as a transport service now has no protection against undue national regulation applied to digital services they usually enjoy under the EU law. The EU’s top court has ruled that France has the right to bring proceedings against local managers of the ride-hailing app Uber for running an illegal taxi service.

“My Uber’s here” could have a totally different connotation in the future, following a massive purchase by the ride-hailing app of Brooklyn-based bicycle startup JUMP.