Uber Technologies Inc. has acquired NYC based electric bike-sharing upstart, JUMP Bikes, for a reported $100 million USD. Both companies have been collaborating since 2017 on bike-sharing programs across the US. Now with this purchase, Uber leaps into the bike rental industry.
Both companies aim to realize a shared vision of multi-modal mobility and decreasing car ownership. With this move, JUMP Bikes seeks to leverage Uber’s resources and operational efficiencies to scale its operations.
The company started back in 2008 when CEO, Ryan Rzepecki, had the idea to promote biking as viable means of everyday transportation. He got this idea while working with the bike-planning group at NYC Department of Transportation.
“I wondered if you could build a lower-cost system that delivered a better user experience by taking the tech out of the docking station and putting it on the bikes themselves.”
JUMP Bikes set off to build a GPS-enabled bike that users could unlock with a mobile app and lock to any regular bike rack. A few years later the company quickly expanded deploying over 12,000 dock-less bikes in 40 cities across 6 countries.
In 2017 JUMP Bikes began selling its own custom designs bikes. These new designs featured an e-assist that provides a boost whenever the rider pedals. That same year JUMP began Partnering with Uber to integrate bike share into their app. This partnership allowed the company to begin operating its own fleets and launch it’s direct to consumer brand, JUMP.
This next chapter for the NYC Company will aim to combine JUMP’s track record of product innovation and city partnerships with Uber’s vast resources.
JUMP can be found in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. with plans to launch in key cities before the end of 2018.
