In the first official purchase under CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has acquired the electric bike-share company Jump for an undisclosed amount, rumored to be around $200m.
Currently operating in San Francisco and Washington, DC, Jump raised about $15m in funding prior to the acquisition, becoming the first in SF to receive a permit for dockless bikes.
The dockless bike world just got a lot more competitive
Dockless bikes, AKA a middle finger to the notion of putting things back where you found them, have quickly taken off in China and are expanding like crazy stateside.
Uber now has to contend with a few established competitors, like New York’s Citi Bike program, which, according to Buzzfeed, saw its 50 millionth ride last year (Jump averages around 28k trips a month in places like San Francisco).
For Uber, it’s about upping their point A to point B game
Dockless bikes have posed a threat to Uber when it comes to trips under 3 miles. Now, Uber is one step closer to realizing their golden vision of becoming a wall-to-wall (or should we say door-to-door) urban mobility platform.
Bikes, fine — but we’re drawing the line at dockless scooters.