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Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore
- petagonoral 9y agohitting that page from europe just shows "Sorry, we couldn’t find that page We’ve moved a lot of stuff over the years, and it must’ve gotten lost in the mix. Please try retyping the address or just head back to our home page."
- DBoFresh 9y agoSame in Canada.
- frikk 9y ago"Be the first to ride. Rent a convenient, easy-to-use electric assist bike provided by JUMP using your Uber app. Join the list below and be one of the first to ride with Uber Bike."
- iM8t 9y agoClick on the location icon in top navigation bar, type in "Seattle", select it and then navigate back to the page. You'll now be able to see the contents.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- et-al 9y agoIt's a partnership with Jump bikes (ebikes). If you're still curious, here's a mirror: http://archive.is/c2Cws http://archive.is/c2Cws
- moonka 9y agoInteresting. In Seattle we now have 3 dockless bike shares (Spin, Lime and Ofo). I think Lime is about to roll out electric bikes, but so far none are. It makes riding up hills pretty rough, especially since they aren't geared very well.
- blang 9y agohttps://www.geekwire.com/2018/limebike-rolling-electric-bicycles-seattle-san-francisco-several-cities/ https://www.geekwire.com/2018/limebike-rolling-electric-bicy... Limit of 14.5 MPH feels a little slow to me.
- moonka 9y agoIt's a bit on the slower side, but when riding in the city I rarely end up hitting above 15 mph unless I'm going downhill, in which case the electric assist limit wouldn't kick in.
- francisofascii 9y ago14.5 MPH is not slow in a city. Anything faster starts to feel a little unsafe IMHO.
- driverdan 9y agoI have an electric bike that goes 20mph. It only feels fast for the first week or so until you get used to it.
- sushisource 9y agoThat's sort of exactly the point. These are generally being ridden by people with poor bike handling skills. I don't want some dumbass flying by at 20 on one of these things when they only bike a few times a year.
- inopinatus 9y agoThe article is misleading. It's not a speed limit for the bike. 14.5mph is the point at which you no longer receive motorised assist. If you can already go up hills at that speed, you may not need an electric bike.
- staplers 9y agoI'd imagine they will need to classify them as "motor vehicles" which will require users to provide proof of a driver's license with motorcycle endorsement to use them. Not really ideal for most casual users. EDIT: http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/docs/equipmt/elect_bicycle.pdf http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/docs/equipmt/elect_bicycle.pd... It appears by staying under 20 MPH they can avoid this.
- bkohlmann 9y agoI love the idea of integrating the lock so that it needs to be attached to an existing bike rack. Lime bike and Ofo have infiltrated Dallas, and their bikes are somewhat of an eyesore, especially as they are strewn everywhere. It'll be interesting to see how they enforce the location requirement. i.e. will you be charged if it's stolen because you didnt lock it on a rack? Will they have a known database of every "suitable" bike rack and "nudge" patrons towards them if they lock outside those regions?
- devit 9y agoOfo and Mobike bikes use locks that block the wheel's rotation and can thus be parked anywhere. Seems like forcing to use an existing bike rack would be a non-starter, since the whole point of dockless bike sharing is that you can just leave the bike in front of your destination regardless of what is there. The "eyesore" factor is a trivial downside compared to the massive convenience of just being able to park the bike anywhere.
- bkohlmann 9y agoYou may be right. And SF will be a natural experiment to see which model wins out. This seems a perfect example of concentrated benefits (riders being able to park wherever) vs. diffuse costs (eyesore to most of the population). An extremely ironic possible outcome is that given the example of uber, cities may legislate away dockless bikes as non-riders lobby their representatives to minimize eyesores.
- icantdrive55 9y agoIn SF, they will need to worry about theft of their product. I have two electric bikes, and I just don't use them. What works for myself is throwing my old mountain bike (cheap bike) into the back of my truck. Look for free parking(which is getting harder, father every year)--and bike to work. When my bike gets stolen, I don't care. I have another rusty bike ready to go. That said, since I'm in construction, it doesn't matter if I'm sweating, or my hair looks like a tornado simulation. I couldn't imagine going into a business meeting after a hard bike ride. Then again--I hear times are changing in terms of attire, hair grooming?
- AndrewWarner 9y agoI rode a Jump bike to work today. It's a magical experience. Just as I struggle a bit to get up a hill, the bike's pedal assist kicks in and helps me out. Ditto for when I'm stopped at a red light and need to get riding fast. The best part of these bikes are the fact that when I get to my destination, I can lock them up to the closest pole or bike rack and just go.
- stonebro 9y agoThis comment reads like an advertisement from a bot
- fizx 9y ago8k karma and a known account. He might do too much marketing tho ;)
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- mmahemoff 9y agoPretty sure Mixergy is presented by a full-fledged human.
- AndrewWarner 9y agoYeah. I'm real. I get a lot out of reading others' comments here, so I was glad to have a chance to write about something I've been using and thinking a lot about.
- sna1l 9y agoLol, ironic that an account created 33 minutes ago with 0 karma is commenting on someone being a bot.
- closeparen 9y agoHow did you get an invite? I applied months ago.
- cocktailpeanuts 9y agoI would use this. I'm just concerned how they will deal with all the homeless people and thieves stealing the body parts. On that note, if this can succeed in SF it can succeed anywhere else. I once left my bike in Tenderloin overnight (Of course I had the common sense to use the U-lock) and the next morning I went back and found only the remains.
- andrei_says_ 9y agoInsurance? Varying cost of rides depending on part of town? Custom-made components unusable on other bikes? When deploying things at scale a lot of possibilities open up.
- notatoad 9y ago>thieves stealing the body parts hopefully you meant bike parts?
- cocktailpeanuts 9y agoIt feels like your body parts have been stolen when you actually experience it...
- dumbfounder 9y agoI left mine U-locked in Chinatown, DC in the middle of the day on 4th of July and it was stolen in less than 3 hours.
- wyclif 9y agoWhat happens when you leave one of these locked in the Tenderloin? I don't think I'd want to be next rider.
- gpsGuys 9y agoCommon sense to use a U-lock but not enough common sense to not leave anything you own in the Tenderloin overnight.
- wehadfun 9y agoReally these would be good for those that use public transportation to get to their final destination. .
- tgb 9y agoMaybe I'm missing something obvious, but how does an electric bike that can be locked anywhere get charged? Do they have people going around replacing the batteries when they get low? How long does a battery last anyway? Edit: solar panel judging off pictures of the Jump bikes?
- philip1209 9y agoBecause it's assist - I wonder if it charges while braking
- saagarjha 9y agoI doubt that would be enough to charge it. Braking is generally done infrequently.
- oblio 9y agoIt can charge while you’re pedaling :)
- Xylakant 9y agoPractically no electric cycle charges via recuperation. This would only be possible on bikes that have the motor attached to the wheel (either front or back) and not for bikes that have the motor at the pedal (you’d need to have the chain fixed and transmitting power when rolling) You could also only brake with one wheel and bikes have the better brake on the front wheel due to weight distribution but powered front wheels are uncommon. You’d also need a set of sensors on the brakes, all the electronics for charging etc. It’s usually just not worth it unless you live in a mountainous region. Bionix from Switzerland offers recuperation but it’s the only one I know.
- txcwpalpha 9y agoIt's an assist electric bike. It's not like riding a moped or a motorcycle. You still have to pedal, but the bike kicks in the electric motor during some situations (such as when going uphill or starting from a dead stop) to make the pedaling easier. When the motor isn't on (such as when you're going downhill or slowing down), the battery recharges itself using your pedaling. edit: as pointed out, this type of charging only extends the battery a little bit. It turns out that JUMP (the company behind these bikes) actually sends out crews to pick up bikes with low battery and takes them back to their office to recharge [1]. 1: https://sf.streetsblog.org/2018/01/11/san-francisco-issues-permit-for-a-non-ford-gobike-bike-share/ https://sf.streetsblog.org/2018/01/11/san-francisco-issues-p...
- longerthoughts 9y agoI wonder how much this ends up cannibalizing their existing business (imagining it would be a small fraction) vs attracting new customers away from walking and public transit.
- kyleschiller 9y agoAlso possible that bikes are more likely to survive a post-SDC world.
- btrettel 9y agoWhat is SDC?
- TheAceOfHearts 9y agoSelf driving cars, I think.
- joncrane 9y agoI believe it means Self Driving Car (from context that we're talking about Uber here)
- rightbyte 9y agoSelf driving car maybe? Kinda unnecessary abbreviation.
- tobltobs 9y agoOr this is plan B if it becomes clear that SDC is a pip dream.
- mmahemoff 9y agoThere's a lot of room for improvement over the new wave of bike startups. I had shockingly bad experiences with OBike - extremely inaccurate locations for their bikes, broken seat, zero response from support when I explained I couldn't lock the bike, and apparently no restrictions in the whole country, so bikes end up all over the country as well as in people's residences or workplaces (not to mention canals and rivers). They dumped hundreds of bikes in central London and a couple weeks later there were none at all. Mobike seems like they have their heads more switched on, but the seat on current models is so low that their bikes (in London at least) are barely usable to anyone at average adult height or above. The official London scheme aka Boris Bikes is still the best, but restricted to central London. The docks have three downsides over the newer model - (1) docks can get full and (2) you still have the last-mile problem walking to/from the dock (3) if unfamiliar with your destination, your ride ends hunting around for a dock to park in or you have to plan ahead and remember where to park ... even then it might be full. One good thing though is they apparently move bikes around in vans to help fill capacity (mainly because commuters move them central in the morning and away again at night). I don't think the new wave of bike startups expanding to new cities every week are hiring drivers to move their stock around.
- notyourwork 9y ago> Mobike seems like they have their heads more switched on, but the seat on current models is so low that their bikes (in London at least) are barely usable to anyone at average adult height or above. Are you not able to adjust the seat? Considering the varying heights of people this would seem like a standard expected feature.
- cpsempek 9y agoFirst of all, this is great. The thing that bike share programs lack IMO is the tech and logistics savvy of a company like uber. In Santa Monica and the west side of LA we have an electric scooter service called Bird, which was started by a ex-lyft/uber excec, and it has been successfull from an outsider's perspective. The most convenient aspect of this service is that you can drop off the scooter anywhere you want, there are no designated drop off zones, which is a true solution to the last mile problem. Main issues they need to resolve from a user stand point is better inventory allocation (hard to find a pair of or multiple scooters near each other for multiple riders to travel together).
- southphillyman 9y agoI remember seeing those black Bird scooters just randomly laying in the middle of sidewalks in Santa Monica. I wonder if that has any impact on maintenance or scooters being stolen.
- oil7abibi 9y agoI’ve ridden some Bird scooters in Santa Monica. They’re amazingly fun. But yes, scooters are left at night, especially on the beach bike path when they finally run out of battery. I can’t imagine Bird not sinking a lot of money into gathering those scooters and charging them every night.
- txcwpalpha 9y ago>The most convenient aspect of this service is that you can drop off the scooter anywhere you want, there are no designated drop off zones, which is a true solution to the last mile problem. In Dallas, there are 6 different bikeshare companies that all operate with this model of "leave the bike where ever you want when done", and it's resulted in most of the city reviling all of the bikeshare companies. The bikes end up left in the most inconvenient places: knocked over in the middle of the sidewalk, stashed in bushes, knocked into fountains, blocking accessibility ramps, on the side of a road where they can be hit by cars, blocking train tracks, and just in general littered everywhere. You literally can't walk a single block in downtown without seeing at least 50 bikes strewn across the bushes/sidewalks/etc. The city is actually exploring ways to restrict this type of "dockless" bike sharing because it's become such a nuisance. See some pics here: http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-mess-photos-10228055 http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-mess-ph...
- dyeje 9y agoCool to see ebikes getting pushed in the USA.
- nemild 9y agoIsn't it a bit weird to have the waitlist form for such a large company be hosted by a third-party (Typeform)?
- kyleschiller 9y agoSince this entire "product" launch is a partnership + landing page, I'm guessing 0 engineers were involved. Building a form isn't hard, but recruiting an engineer, convincing them that building a form is a good use of their time, and then actually getting it "shipped" takes 100x longer at large companies than just giving Typeform your credit card.
- darkstar999 9y ago> recruiting an engineer, convincing them that building a form is a good use of their time Huh, you must have different experience with jobs. In my experience it's more like "do this" and you say "ok".
- tomp 9y agoFor everyone else who's getting a 404: http://archive.is/HTfZh http://archive.is/HTfZh I hope they don't handle bikes like their do their websites...
- shurcooL 9y agoThanks. For a moment, I thought the 404 was intentional and this was supposed to be some sort of satire.
- aglionby 9y agoThe 404 seems to be geo-related; I used a US VPN and it loaded.
- unicornporn 9y agoSame for me.
- briandear 9y agoGeolocation is my biggest peave in all of the Internet. If I want <some company>.fr or .co.uk — I’d type that.
- canadianwriter 9y agoIf from another country it redirects to the /country/url so it 404's if it's not available in your country. Really stupid way to do it.
- CodeSheikh 9y agoA lot of metropolitan cities already have bike-to-rent programs e.g. CitiBike in NYC, GoBike in SF. This looks like a quickly and sloppily put together plan to hush noisy investors and shareholders. But hey it is never a bad idea to have more bikes in SF. Especially innovative electric-assist ones.
- devy 9y agoJUMP appears to offer electric-assisted bikes, which is different than CitiBike/GoBike.
- joncrane 9y agoHow is this furthering Uber's agenda and position as a company?
- loorinm 9y agoMany possibilities: - gain the remainder of users who perhaps can afford a bike ride but not an uber to their destination - gather bike-specific data which could immensely improve safety for autonomous vehicles - improve their horrible image by aligning themselves with environmentally-friendly and traffic-alleviating transit - bikes are fully automated and require no troublesome humans to keep the system going. Uber drivers a big hassle for Uber. - optimizing a bike rental system is a training ground for running an autonomous car rental system Just off the top of my head..
- icebraining 9y agoI'd say they want to be synonymous with Transportation - to train people to instinctively open the Uber app when they need to go somewhere.
- mattbee 9y agoI love using the Boris Bikes in London for the first time a couple of weeks back - nice big sturdy things, but oh my word the system is shakey. The app crashed a lot, then the terminals at the bike parks were "disconnected" and couldn't process a hire. But is there much room for competition in bike hire? Surely these things need massive city subsidies?
- mmahemoff 9y agoThe official Boris bike app is lame, but fortunately no user of Boris bikes ever has to use it, as they have a solid API. You can get a fantastic experience with apps like CityMapper, which incorporate Boris bikes into the overall public transport landscape. They show you live maps with availability. (Hopefully they'll integrate the newer bike platforms too soon.)
- salvar 9y agoWhat has stopped me from using the Boris bikes is how unreliable the payment system is. It seems like there's a 25% chance that any given bike station will reject my card for an unknown reason.
- tanilama 9y agoCopy from China?
- bunderbunder 9y agoHow do people who've used it feel about the dockless iteration of bike sharing? I've never had occasion to try it, but I'm very skeptical. It seems like letting people leave the bike more-or-less wherever is optimizing the end-of-ride experience at the expense of pretty much every other part of the operation aside from actually riding the bike. I don't think I'd want to start my morning commute by hunting around in an app for a nearby bike (and hoping there is one) and then wandering around my neighborhood trying to locate it. I'd much rather have the consistency of walking to a known location near my house and grabbing a bike that I know will be there. I also don't know that, as someone who has to use the sidewalks when not riding, I'd want to have these things just scattered all over the place. Which I fear would be the case. When people are parking these things, it's not _their_ bike, so they won't be so worried about doing a good job of it. Last, having the bikes scattered at random has got to really do a number on the logistics costs. Going to a relatively constrained list of known locations to retrieve bikes that are due for maintenance sounds a lot cheaper to me than having to drive all over the city, possibly including going to places where the van can't go like random spots in the middle of public parks.
- pbreit 9y agoScoot works pretty well with this model. I would much rather have a shot at getting a nearby bike than consistently walking a distance.
- wukerplank 9y agoAs a citizen I HATE dockless rental bikes. No wonder city councils start to throw them out again. Worst case they clog up bike stands, worst case they clog up entries to parks, get thrown into rivers, etc. It seems they attract the least disciplined kinds of people.
- mmahemoff 9y agoIf you think about where mobile tech is 10 years from now, I think the direction makes sense. It's likely most people will be using some form of augmented reality + voice assistants, in which case locating a bike won't be very cumbersome. I think we should/will end up with lots of "virtual" parking areas, e.g. one on every block. It would be similar to the virtual commuting "bus line" type routes Uber and Lift are creating, which establish some day-to-day stability, but can easily be updated every few months according to demand. Virtual parking areas would keep things less cluttered and easier to locate, but can still be distributed closely together.
- yoavz 9y agoDoes the price point of $2 for 30 minutes seem a little high to anyone? Ofo is 4x cheaper at $1/hour [1] in Seattle... even when taking into account the high COL in SF and the extra benefit of electric bike, this seems excessive. A uber pool with the express option can be $3-4 for a short bikeable ride, I think I'd rather default to that in a majority of cases. [1] https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/8/15/16153622/ofo-bike-share-launch-seattle https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/8/15/16153622/ofo-bike-share...
- josephpmay 9y agoIn many parts of SF, an electric bike will be quicker than an Uber
- owenversteeg 9y ago$1/hr seems pretty VC-subsidized. Assuming that the costs for one bike are $900/year (including broken motors, lost bikes, theft, docks, rent for docks, broken chargers, etc) that's 3 hours of trips needed per day... which might not sound like a lot, but with 10 hours of daylight a day that's a pretty large amount of usage IMO. I live in the Netherlands, where everyone owns their own bikes. The biggest bikeshare program is run by the national railways, with bikes available at any station for €3.85/24 hours. They're non-electric, so probably cost about $200 per bike in bulk. I wish there were smaller rental periods available though. [edit] googled bike costs out of curiosity, and apparently ofo builds their own non-electric bikes in China, which cost only $36 each (!).
- kercker 9y agoOfo offered monthly pass of 1 yuan per month in Beijing for some time last year and even if you don't have a monthly pass, you can ride at a fee of 1 yuan per hour. Mobike offers seasonly pass of 5 yuan per 3 months in Beijing. Both of them are heavily subsided by investment. Sooner or later, people will get used to low price or no price, and I don't think they will finally generate profits after the fierce competition between them ends.
- madrafi 9y agoIt's fair to say that the theory "everything evolves to go back to genesis" is correct. Next thing is Airbnb promoting caves and tinder releasing match with your hunter app. Somewhere in the middle Google will come with Fire App.
- sebleon 9y agoRio de Janeiro had an awesome bike system in 2012. You could use an app to unlock the bikes, find hubs, save your credit card info on the app, super easy to use the bikes. This was all setup and subsidized by a local bank, surprised more cities haven't been able to replicate this kind of system.
- mpermar 9y agoThis can be great if they start putting bike racks within hotel properties, which would be great for them too as there is a) easy access to people that do not have vehicles, and b) hotel properties use to be "reasonably" safe for parking. In any case as someone mentions here, it can canibalize its own business we hotel residents tend to use Uber-like services a lot.
- dmix 9y agoThis link wasnt loading on my phone but apparently JUMP is a 'dockless' service. Not sure if they even have typical racks of bikes like other bike share services.
- sharpercoder 9y ago1) it is showing pictures of a human riding a bicycle with a helmet. Please don't promote helmets on bikes: they reduce safety (for people 12+ yo). 2) I get a 404 (NL) 3) JUMP is not linked - I don't know what it is untill I reach the bottom of the page. 4) Although it is mentioned on the page, it is not very clear this is SF only.
- oculusthrift 9y agoproof for #1?
- sharpercoder 9y agohttp://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-bike-helmet-paradox http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-bike-helmet-paradox
- oculusthrift 9y agothat entire article is spent debunking your claim.
- birdsink 9y agoAfter some quick google searching, I can't find any evidence supporting #1. (So in the mean time while we figure this out, you should probably still wear helmets while cycling, folks).
- sharpercoder 9y agohttp://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-bike-helmet-paradox http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-bike-helmet-paradox This article makes an important point: studies prove people in accidents have significantly reduced head damage. However, not many studies prove that it makes bicycling safer: instead, cyclers are perceived safer, and therefore it is unsafer.
- darkstar999 9y agoBrowse through the images in the search results for "helmet" in /r/bicycling and you will change your mind. https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/search?q=helmet&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/search?q=helmet&restrict_... Any chance your statistics come from the Netherlands?
- spraak 9y agoObserving these services connect in my own life has been interesting. The peak moment where I really started to think about it was when I took an Uber to pick up my Turo car then drove my Airbnb where I waited for my Instacart order to arrive.
- AndrewWarner 9y agoLooks like a lot of you can't access the site. You don't need Uber for this. I've been using the JUMP iOS app. It's well-made and is available right now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jump-bikes-bike-share/id1251322970?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jump-bikes-bike-share/id1251...
- devy 9y agoI haven't seen anyone mentioned this nor on that page (sorry if I missed it), but I think the biking sharing is a perfect complimentary step to solve the last mile problem in mass transit system / ride sharing programs. Bikes (or E-Bikes in this Uber/JUMP case) are zero-mission transportation tools perfect for last mile extension from point A to point B in metropolitans where mass transit system won't reach and/or can't reach. Same apply to car sharing programs as there are some small alleys or hilly/twisty roads or pedestrian walkways (maybe this is a stretch) etc. If you have travel to big cities in South East Asia or Mediterranean you would think it makes sense. They use a lot of mopeds but bikes/ebikes are better because they burn fat rather than fossil fuel:)
- yesimahuman 9y agoSounds like Donkey Republic which I used (and enjoyed) in Denmark. Nice that you can find/return a bike anywhere (not just in a designated rack). Looking forward to doing this in the states
- rconti 9y agoI used Donkey Republic in Munich and rather liked it; the bluetooth lock functionality was pretty cool. I used another vendor in Vienna but the experience was very 3rd world. The location of the bikes was only approximate (the first 2 locations I looked had no evidence of any bikes; thankfully the 3rd location had 2 bikes). They weren't maintained, and the app just gave you a code to a cable lock which means I could lock it after ending my ride, then someone else could come along, use the same code, and the vendor would assume I was lying about where I left it. Billing was handled through some sketchy place in Florida. I wish I could remember the name.
- Thriptic 9y agoThis looks substantially better than Hubway (the Boston bike share). Currently you need to bring bikes from one dock to another dock, and as you would expect commuting completely breaks this model. All the bikes move towards employment centers, meaning docks get saturated and there is nowhere to park near offices, and it's also impossible to find a bike anywhere in outlying areas. This pattern reverses during the evening.
- canadianwriter 9y agoHey Uber - your redirect rules really confuse here - it 404's. Maybe instead have it go to a page that simply says "not available in your country" or go to the American page but have an overlay asking if I want to go to a Canadian page or something - the current way just leads to bad user experience.
- yashksagar 9y agoBe prepared for a ton of bikes swimming around in the bay :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5e-fhUCxmk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5e-fhUCxmk
- DrScump 9y agoSad that it took that Youtuber embarrassing OBike to make any attempt to retrieve their bikes (47 in one trip, @5:15 into the video).
- khalilravanna 9y agoAm I daft or does it only tell you it's for SF only when you click sign up? I mean, I figured it was SF only but it's kind of annoying that I can't really confirm that in any explicit way based on the landing page.
- mrmrcoleman 9y agoPage seems to have been moved: "Sorry, we couldn’t find that page We’ve moved a lot of stuff over the years, and it must’ve gotten lost in the mix. Please try retyping the address or just head back to our home page." This is the best link I could find with a quick search: https://jumpbikes.com/uber-bike https://jumpbikes.com/uber-bike
- maxpupmax 9y agoThe page loads for me.
- unicornporn 9y agoSame for me. They seem to block users outside USA (at least me). I turned on my VPN (gives me american IP), then it worked.
- artur_makly 9y agohttps://www.uber.com/ride/uber-bike/ https://www.uber.com/ride/uber-bike/ -- doesnt load anymore.
- fooblitzky 9y agoI find the wave of bike shares a little odd, overall. Access to a bike seems to be the least obstacle when considering commuting by bike - you could probably buy a bike for less than the cost of renting one for a few months. Larger concerns include riding in traffic, being struck by cars, and poor weather. None of those are addressed by plonking a few bikes here and there.
- sushisource 9y agoI see the use case much more as "I need to get from place A to B downtown, outside of my normal commute", etc. I agree marketing it as an everyday commute thing makes little sense but that's only part of the page here.
- bichiliad 9y agoI've found that cities that have Jump bikes already have at least some amount of bike lanes, and having an electric assist motor helps a lot with mitigating traffic. Plus, they're bright red and have built-in lights, which makes them hard to miss. Speaking about bike shares more generally, owning a bike does involve a lot of maintenance. You forgo that by renting (and I'm sure it's priced to be competitive to the amortized cost of owning a bike and keeping it in tune). I love that sort of thing, but I'm not everyone. If this is the thing that gets people on bikes and off cars, I'm all for it.
- seizethecheese 9y agoI'm a frequent user in Seattle. Here are two big draws: - One way trips. When you take your own bike, you have no flexibility for return trips. - Low overhead. My own bike seems to always have a flat tire or a skipping chain. I can never seem to remember where my lock key is. Etc...
- aeorgnoieang 9y agoCommuting via your own bike is very much a more significant commitment. You probably don't want to leave your bike near your destination. Whereas, with a 'shared' bike, you can commute to somewhere, but take other transport back home. Storing a bike can also be expensive if in no other way than space. The Uber Bike tho is an electric bike; very much more expensive than a regular bike (and much easier to ride).
- jsemrau 9y agoI think uber has a strategic problem in that they want to do everything, everywhen, all the time. ... How about a bit of focus?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- toomanybeersies 9y agoIn Vietnam, they have Uber Moto, where it's like normal Uber but they use a motorbike. It was definitely a surprise when I found out, but it makes sense, since motorbikes are the standard form of transport there. I wonder what other interesting regional options Uber has.
- 11thEarlOfMar 9y agoIn case it's not otherwise posted, this is the first thing that comes to mind when you say 'bike sharing startup': https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/04/17/104406935-GettyImages-668015360_2.1910x1000.jpg?v=1492421816 https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/edit...
- cjensen 9y agoAbusing public bike racks to hold private rental inventory. The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city. Others allow leaving the bike in any location. It figures Uber would attempt to get the benefits of a rack without paying for it.
- darkstar999 9y agoIs finding bike parking a problem there? If not, why does it matter? "Abusing" is a strong word. How about "using them for what they were made to do without breaking any law or social contract".
- s0rce 9y agoIn certain places it can be hard to find bike parking, especially if there are few to no racks and you have to lock to fences, parking meters, signs etc. However, if the bike shares are frequently being used then I don't see a reason why they can't use the same locking infrastructure as private bikes. If they are largely sitting unused and occupying the space semi-permanently then I would have an issue. However, most cars sit idle much of the time occupying much more limited car parking space on the sides of roads and rarely does anyone complain. In fact, they insist it is a right to use up the public space to park their private car.
- cjensen 9y agoYes. It's abuse because Uber presumably have a lot of bikes they would like to inject into the system. Every bike displaces one available parking spot. Suppose there's a small town with one bike lot at the library. Everyone keeps their bike at home except to go to the library. Does the use of those bike spots affect the public? Yes. Would it be okay if Enterprise Car Rental used public spaces to hold their inventory? No. That's not how rental companies work. Perhaps there is no law, but I expect that to last about ten seconds after Uber pulls this stunt.
- darkstar999 9y agoYou're arguing an invalid point. As a cyclist, I never have a problem finding a place to park.
- bbarn 9y agoOpinion: Bike sharing will never be more than barely above break even. I am a big bike advocate. I have 12 bikes downstairs, I've raced, and nearly every vacation I've taken in the last 15 years has been bike related. I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people, and I am an uber user occasionally. I still can't see this working. People like me, who absolutely love bike commuting, we can't stop our bikes from getting stolen. With our 100 dollar locks that are better security than what most people use on the front door of their homes, they still get stolen. I have hope for humanity in general, but my experience has been that people in America just don't consider a bicycle worth any more than paper and ink in the office printer. They will get treated with disregard, and even more so with an uber logo on them.
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- Johnny555 9y agoI still can't see this working. People like me, who absolutely love bike commuting, we can't stop our bikes from getting stolen Isn't that what will make bike sharing popular? I own several bikes (including a somewhat expensive one), but when I want to bike downtown, I take one of the bike-share bikes from in front of the apartment complex next door. That way I don't need to worry about locking it or having it be stolen (and so far, there has always been a bike waiting for me when it was time to bike home).
- spectrum1234 9y agoI've only had $500 bikes but never had any problems with theft in DC or SF. Left it overnight in DC many times too.
- cialowicz 9y ago> Bike sharing will never be more than barely above break even. That’s much more profitable than Uber’s current business model.
- skrebbel 9y ago> I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people Taking this off topic but.. what? Why would anyone "mind" e-bikes? I recognize that you and me are probably in very different filter bubbles but everyone I know is either ambivalent to them or a fan (and owner). Here in NL bike commutes certainly increased. People used to mostly commute within their city, but now that e-bikes don't suck, I know several people who do 2x 30+km commutes by bike every day without breaking a sweat (literally). And don't even get me started about enabling semi disabled people to bike places again, it's fantastic. Isn't that super neat? What am I missing?
- beedogs 9y agoNice to see Uber getting into the same "using public infrastructure instead of building our own" scam that all these lousy private bike-sharing companies are doing. Awful company.
- killbrad 9y agoI will never use this service and think Uber is a negative for society. It's unfortunate that people don't see it.
- thewhitetulip 9y agoThere is something called Peddle by Zoomcar in India and it is amazing.
- debt 9y agoEveryone of these I’ve come upon has been dead. I’m if that says anything about just thought I’d contribute my two pence
- 2dvisio 9y agoI rode a similar built in Poland (https://en.wavelo.pl/ https://en.wavelo.pl/). And it was a very comfortable one. Actually, the jump ones look very similar. Maybe they are manufactured by the same company?
- khc 9y agoGreat news, the jump app is crap and won't even show me where the bikes are before charging me