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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

#161

Post by bogomipz »

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…

I have to believe that some of this about brand awareness.

Citibike is similar, its not a cash cow but every single bike is painted up in Citibank livery and logos.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#162

Post by Swizec »

r27d wrote: post #158

Riding your bike to work was one of the only things that is the same in San Francisco no matter what socioeconomic class you're a part of. Jump changed that. Disappointing. Everyone riding a bike used to deal with the same problems. Unfortunate as those problems are they could happen to a rich person, a poor person, or anyone in between which is an equitable sharing of the social cost. The privileged people used to b…

Is Jump really that expensive? Last time I used it, it cost something like $2. It's cheaper even than the Ford bike shares.

Plus it can't get stolen.

I guess if you use it every day it does add up to a new cheapest walmart bike every 45 rides. Hmm.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#163

Post by bogomipz »

maherbeg wrote: post #34
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…

I think you may underestimate the impact e-bikes are going to have on major (non-car centric) cities. They'll likely reshape cities significantly as infrastructure gets improved for biking. You can get significant traffic density improvements by pushing bikes instead of cars, and e-bikes make this more accessible.

>"I think you may underestimate the impact e-bikes are going to have on major (non-car centric) cities."

Outside of Europe what would you consider the major non car-centric cities?

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#164

Post by BoorishBears »

ebikelaw wrote: post #157
BoorishBears wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a bit rude. I don’t get what your point is anyways. Cars are an eyesore so what’s one more eyesore? Not to mention the problem is vandalized and misplaced bikes, not bikes. I don’t mind bikes getting used taking space. How many cars do you see up on cinder blocks blocking the road? That’s the equivalent of a vandalized share bike strewn across a sidewalk.

I can't even tell if you're kidding, to be honest. Disabled cars in and upon the public way are a daily sight in my town. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1329538000569&set=pb...

See how you had to qualify it as in your town?

This is illegal, and uncommon. Maybe you live in a rundown area with a poor rule of law, but the norm is a car in the road gets towed and it’s owner pays.

Are the share bikes getting “towed” and their owners billed?

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#165

Post by r27d »

Swizec wrote: post #162
r27d wrote: post #158

Riding your bike to work was one of the only things that is the same in San Francisco no matter what socioeconomic class you're a part of. Jump changed that. Disappointing. Everyone riding a bike used to deal with the same problems. Unfortunate as those problems are they could happen to a rich person, a poor person, or anyone in between which is an equitable sharing of the social cost. The privileged people used to b…

Is Jump really that expensive? Last time I used it, it cost something like $2. It's cheaper even than the Ford bike shares. Plus it can't get stolen. I guess if you use it every day it does add up to a new cheapest walmart bike every 45 rides. Hmm.

Personal e-bikes for $1000-2000 (same experience as Jump) can easily be under $.25 per ride. I have 1000+ rides and 4500 miles on my $1800 ebike in under a year and I could sell it for $1400.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#166

Post by bogomipz »

clairity wrote: post #61
fataliss wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would take a lot of political will to do something like that though and it would take YEARS! I don't think the US is a great market (right now) for city-bikes. Outside of maybe Manhattan & SF I can't think of any major city where a bike would take you places faster/better than another way of transportation would. When you consider all the hassles that biking as a transportation comes with, I doubt this has any l…

los angeles is perfect for bike transport. it's sunny and doesn't get too hot or too cold most of the year (in the LA basin proper, the san fernando and inland valleys are a different story). the city government is pro bike path and installing more bike lanes every day. biking is faster during the 6 hours of rush hour a day. most amenities are within 2-3 miles (~15 minutes) of where you live. you can take your bike o…

>"los angeles is perfect for bike transport."

Except that LA is a sprawl and almost nothing is close together. Maybe if you live at the beach its nice.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#167

Post by theNJR »

jseliger wrote: post #18
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…

it's the power assist that makes it feel more like a scooter than a bike There are many comments online about how awesome electric bikes are and many skeptical responses. I think the basic divide comes down to one thing: Has the person tried an electric bike? Almost everyone who has immediately sees them as awesome. Many who haven't don't get the point. There are finally some reputable electric bikes available for ar…

I've had a Juiced Cross Current (The newer better version is this: https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/crosscurrent-s) for over a year. I've put around 1k miles on it between commuting and doing long weekend bike adventures here in Los Angeles. I can't even begin to express how much I love my eBike. I peddle pretty hard with the assist so I get a good workout and 2x my effort. I agree - anyone who is skeptical simply hasn't tried one.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#168

Post by splonk »

gjem97 wrote: post #100
jwilliams wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any evidence of that? Just looks like they've excluded areas with more tourists. Irrespective, would still be easy (and overall nicer) if they made that transparent.

> looks like they've excluded areas with more tourists If it's anything like NYC they did this to avoid upsetting the existing bike rental businesses in those areas. They need to do this to get local government buy-in of the program.

This is exactly the case. My understanding is that they've pitched themselves as a commuting solution to get approval, and the local tourist bike rental places complain as they get closer to the standard tourist biking areas of Golden Gate Park and the bridge.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/bike-battle-ignited-rentals-fear-f...

Edit: The lack of bikeshare on 24th street is a separate issue with Calle 24, which could reasonably be called NIMBYism.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#169

Post by k_sh »

bogomipz wrote: post #166
clairity wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

los angeles is perfect for bike transport. it's sunny and doesn't get too hot or too cold most of the year (in the LA basin proper, the san fernando and inland valleys are a different story). the city government is pro bike path and installing more bike lanes every day. biking is faster during the 6 hours of rush hour a day. most amenities are within 2-3 miles (~15 minutes) of where you live. you can take your bike o…

>"los angeles is perfect for bike transport." Except that LA is a sprawl and almost nothing is close together. Maybe if you live at the beach its nice.

True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go.

Also, a bicycle can serve as a last-mile connector to the transit system - imagine someone who lives at Wilshire and La Brea but works in West Hollywood, and would like to take the Red Line, but doesn't want to lose an hour to walking.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#170

Post by IAmEveryone »

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…

The relevant buzzword is multimodal transportation, i. e. the trend towards using a variety of different options either on a single route (bike to train) or depending on circumstances (bike when the weather is good, Uber otherwise).

Bike sharing is therefore complementary to "ride sharing" and having the two within one system could potential improve both.

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