Walk to a Jump location in the app and there's no bike? Take an Uber Find your Jump hasn't been charged and is dead? Take an Uber Jumps are a little more expensive after a price increase? Take an Uber
Aha! Someone found the value add!
Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
211–220 of 315 posts
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
How is Express better than Pool? It's the same or slower. Same issues for me (waiting 5-10 minutes for pickup, then the unknown factor of whether there's 2 others already in the car or the driver will need to pick up 1-2 after you are picked up).
Express trades off time for money. It's more effort and slows down your trip, but it's much cheaper.
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 o…
You might have to hunt for one, but then you can leave it right at your destination so it should even out somewhat. That said, dockless bikes are everywhere in Seattle right now. Docked bikes never took off here, but I see people on the dockless ones all the time.
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Make transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere, for everyone."
I look forward to Uber Airlines in that case.
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#215Of course Uber's doing another shitty thing.
Dockless bicycles in Melbourne are being thrown into the river at an alarming rate, because people are sick of companies relying on littering in public as a business model.
So of course Uber is joining the party.
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#216I think these bikes miss the mark on two major fronts:
- Why do they need to be electric? Bicycles are phenomenally efficient, even for people who aren't in "good shape." In SF you can find routes around the really crazy hills. Furthermore, electric bikes reduce the barrier to entry for douches to "go cruising". Every day (NYC) I almost get hit by one of these things buzzing around. I'm sure these bikes are less powerful, but come on, exercise!
- Dockless. There is plenty of room for docks, USE THE ROADS. This video does a great job showing how inefficient cars are with space: https://vimeo.com/223171024. It's not right for a company to co-opt public space with their bikes. These should be designed into cities. It's not hard; make space.
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#217This 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.
Anyone half serious about riding doesn't ride a rental
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#218Awesome! 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…
Oh so it's fake bikes for real lazy people, got it
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
> True, but generally folks live within 5 miles of 90% of the places they go. Isn't LA like, the single place on earth where this is least true?
Most Texas cities are arguably worse, but since it's Texas, the expectations are pretty low.
Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
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've been cycling in SF for more than a decade and am a SF Bike Coalition member, so I doubt I'm underestimating it all that much. But even if you are right I don't understand why Uber is eager to buy in now . If this takes off so much that Uber is obliged to get in on the action, they can wait. It strikes me as like Apple with MP3 players or smartphones or smartwatches: it's cheaper and easier to let somebody else p…
Also a cyclist, and I think one of the reasons share bikes haven't taken off as much in SF is the terrain. Bikes are a convenient way to get from place to place, but who wants to get sweaty and scared riding around SF hills?