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Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

wsj.com

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Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#21

Post by ggregoire »

gervase wrote: post #16
saudioger wrote: post #6

Does anyone know if going dockless increases ridership in any significant way? The consumer benefits seem great but it seems like such a nightmare to maintain compared to a docking system.

I can't speak to the complexity of managing a dockless system (and in particular, their profitability), but from a UX perspective, it's a total game-changer. In my city, we started with docked, but after a dockless company arrived, literally no-one uses the docked bikes - why put up with the extra hassle of having to return the bikes for no user benefit? The prices are already so low that I can't really see them bein…

> why put up with the extra hassle of having to return the bikes for no user benefit?

What about the extra hassle of finding and walking with your map to your dockless bike? (if you are lucky enough to find one close to you)

Also in both cities I lived, docking stations are everywhere, it has never been a problem (maybe once or twice a year when my usual docking station was full. Still, I just needed to go the next one, 5 min from there).

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#22

Post by neves »

wpietri wrote: post #7

This is a puzzle to me. Uber faces some critical issues ahead. If they can solve them, the bikes will be a rounding error. If they can't, the bike business won't be enough to save them. Why add the complexity when they could buy or build something later? I especially can't figure out why the Jump CEO would do it. The odds of their work surviving to the 10 year mark seems so small. It reminds me of something like Dodg…

It looks like a marketing play. There are studies proving that Uber is increasing traffic and pollution (not even talking about workspace issues and drivers explotation). Bikes are eco-friendly and everybody like them.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#23

Post by UncleEntity »

saudioger wrote: post #6

Does anyone know if going dockless increases ridership in any significant way? The consumer benefits seem great but it seems like such a nightmare to maintain compared to a docking system.

I do wonder how they keep track of those things, I see them all over the place -- in front of houses in neighborhoods, "hidden" in apartment complexes, locked to random things, left in the middle of the sidewalk so you have to push it out of the way to go by (my favorite), left unlocked in front of the corner store so anyone can jump on and ride away, &etc.

Rarely do I see anyone actually riding them though.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#25

Post by guelo »

wpietri wrote: post #7

This is a puzzle to me. Uber faces some critical issues ahead. If they can solve them, the bikes will be a rounding error. If they can't, the bike business won't be enough to save them. Why add the complexity when they could buy or build something later? I especially can't figure out why the Jump CEO would do it. The odds of their work surviving to the 10 year mark seems so small. It reminds me of something like Dodg…

These bikes are definitely going to eat into the number of uber rides. It's happened to me personally where I compare the time an Uber ride would take vs a bike and I end up choosing the bike. Interestingly this weekend I ended up choosing an electric scooter over a bike.These things are going to be used in a continuum depending on the situation, especially for younger people in urban environments.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#26

Post by mikepurvis »

barkingcat wrote: post #20
chrischen wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried dockless bikes in Taiwan and while being able to park anywhere is grrat initally, the chance your bike gets taken, the difficulty in locating a bike due to bariable locatioms and inaccurate GPS, really dirty bikes, are all huge problems.

Can you bring a bike lock and just lock the dockless bike?

I'd be pretty frustrated if I used the app to locate an available bike but then found that someone had locked it up.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#27

Post by olivermarks »

neves wrote: post #22
wpietri wrote: post #7

This is a puzzle to me. Uber faces some critical issues ahead. If they can solve them, the bikes will be a rounding error. If they can't, the bike business won't be enough to save them. Why add the complexity when they could buy or build something later? I especially can't figure out why the Jump CEO would do it. The odds of their work surviving to the 10 year mark seems so small. It reminds me of something like Dodg…

It looks like a marketing play. There are studies proving that Uber is increasing traffic and pollution (not even talking about workspace issues and drivers explotation). Bikes are eco-friendly and everybody like them.

I think marketing play too - there has been so much negative press about Uber they badly needed an ecologically sound, 'no victims' vehicle to move people's minds away from the self driving car death of a bicycle pusher, and the Travis Kalanick era'Fight Club film extra' visuals a lot of people see as the Uber brand...

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#28

Post by kasey_junk »

Parsnip1 wrote: post #17
kasey_junk wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious why? Just availability?

The only times I've used a bike share, it was because I was walking somewhere and happened to pass a dockless bike that seemed like a really good idea to just rent and use right away. These were invariable in places that would not have had a docking station.

I get that. But he mentioned that dockless made it feasible for replacing the commute. Those seem like the kinds of trips that dock based systems excel at because they are known routes.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#30

Post by malandrew »

dawhizkid wrote: post #13

Awesome! Having used Jump this weekend, I wouldn't say dockless is the main value prop to me as a customer - it's the power assist that makes it feel more like a scooter than a bike. Going medium distances (1-2 miles) and up and down steep hills in SF was a breeze. If you're commuting, it's "sweat free." IMO Uber Pool/Lyft Line has gotten so slow (I'm sure Pool/Line's share of total rides vs regular X/Lyft is more th…

Have you tried Uber Pool Express instead of regular Uber Pool. I use it for commuting daily and it usually only takes 10 minutes longer than an UberX.
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