How Uber’s New Electric Bikes Could Change Inner-City Travel

Photographer%3A+Paul+Wasneski+%28Flickr%29+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fpaulwasneski%2F43749079472

Paul Wasneski

Photographer: Paul Wasneski (Flickr) https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwasneski/43749079472

Nico Soltero, Writer

Back in February of this year, Uber added electric bikes as a substitute mode for transportation during rush hour and to help clean up carbon footprints in cities. Two months later, in April, the company obtained an electric bike rental app called JUMP, in order to help pursue its interest in this idea.

JUMP is an electric bike rental app that specializes in renting electric bikes and scooters. These bikes are currently available in eight cities and may soon be available to more. In order to start a rental, one must make a reservation via the app, then find a nearby bike or scooter and unlock it via the given 4-digit PIN.

“People are realizing vehicles can be much smaller and simpler and electric,” said Gabe Klein, the co-founder of the transportation consulting firm CityFi, as he told CNNMoney in an interview. “You don’t need a giant GMC Suburban for a trip under a mile.”

Studies have shown that Uber car trips have had a 10% decrease since July 1st, while JUMP rider trips via the UBER platform have increased by 15% according to CNN. The highest occurrences where people chose to use the bikes instead of cars according to the graph above were during the weekdays between 6 AM and 6 PM, when traffic congestion is at its peak.

However, the company may struggle financially as since rates are lower for bikes than cars. This will translate as decreased profit for Uber. “Short-term financially, maybe it’s not a win for us,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told the Financial Times in an interview, “but strategically, long-term we think that is exactly where we want to head.”

Uber drivers are also worried, as the bikes could result in competition and lower income from trips. “When I’ve spoken to our driver partners about it, the first impression was, why are you bringing in a bike to compete against me?” Khosrowshahi told the Financial Times. “The second impression after the conversation is, oh, I get a longer ride where I can make more money? Sign me up.”

Uber hopes that in time, more and more users will come to JUMP for transportation with the bikes hopefully being available almost anywhere. “This is having a positive impact on the things cities care about, notably congestion and reducing carbon,” Andrew Salzberg, the leader of transportation policy and research at Uber told CNN in an interview “Those [things] are exciting.”