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Has Jump been profitable ever? I cannot possibly see how a dockless bike share company is worth $200M. Another bloated valuation to add to the trend of overval

Has Jump been profitable ever? I cannot possibly see how a dockless bike share company is worth $200M. Another bloated valuation to add to the trend of overvalued SV companies. I barely see anyone in SF use any of the bikeshare bikes. Ford, JUMP, any of them. Once again Uber demonstrates it does not know how to spend money. Well done.

taobility 8y ago
Uber just follow from what its China rival's strategy: https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/17/didi-platform-bike-sharing-threat/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/17/didi-platform-bike-sharing...
rahimnathwani 8y ago
CNBC, last week: "Meituan Dianping is buying bike-sharing firm Mobike for $2.7 billion excluding debt." So Uber isn't alone in thinking a dockless bike share company can be worth over $200MM.
praneshp 8y ago
> I barely see anyone in SF use any of the bikeshare bikes. You're looking in the wrong places. I see them being used all the time. The last few days, there've also been a bunch of scooters ($1 to start, can park without locking).
cepth 8y ago
If you’re interested, give this podcast from Recode a listen: https://www.recode.net/2017/8/18/16165116/brad-bao-limebike-bicycle-sharing-recode-too-embarrassed-to-ask-podcast-kara-swisher-lauren-goode https://www.recode.net/2017/8/18/16165116/brad-bao-limebike-.... According to Brad Bao of Limebike, generally the cost of a bike is covered in 4 months. In a recent Time magazine piece on bike sharing, the Chinese company Ofo is listed as being able to produce a bike for $50 USD. Assuming you’re charging $1 per hour, and even factoring in depreciation and maintenance, I don’t think it’s hard to see how bikesharing could be financially lucrative. These bike sharing startups may actually have a business that is capable of generating an operating profit. The trouble comes when they produce 2x or 3x the bikes needed in a city, and end up with junkyards full of bikes.
- s17n 8y ago
  Jump bikes are electric assisted drive, they are gonna cost an order of magnitude more than $50 to build.
  - cepth 8y ago
    From the LimeBike podcast interview transcript: 'Right. The unique economics then comes back to the start. There are two parts. To the bike itself is straight up that all bikes are roughly about $300 at a manufacturer cost. You’re looking at retail price of this equivalent bike, maybe $900 to $1,000. Manufacturer’s bike, the top bike manufacturer in the world.'. They charge $1 for a 30 minute ride. If we believe that they recoup the cost in 90 days, they're doing $3.33 in revenue per day, or roughly 3.33 half-hour rides per day. The breakeven on the bike itself would be at 300 rides at $1 each. A quick Google search shows that well-reviewed e-bikes are commercially available from $650 and up. JUMP charges $2 per half-hour ride (per their website). They would need to generate 325 rides to break even. It doesn't seem that the payback period on the bike itself is meaningfully longer than a traditional bike. Keep in mind, this is assuming that JUMP is paying anything close to retail on e-bikes. Anyone who visits a HKTDC or Canton Fair trade show will have seen that there are some seriously impressive e-bikes (folding, lightweight, 15MPH), available for a fraction of $650 if you're buying in bulk. EDIT: Changed $6.66 in revenue per day to $3.33. My mistake.

taobility 8y ago

Uber just follow from what its China rival's strategy: https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/17/didi-platform-bike-sharing-threat/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/17/didi-platform-bike-sharing...

rahimnathwani 8y ago

CNBC, last week: "Meituan Dianping is buying bike-sharing firm Mobike for $2.7 billion excluding debt." So Uber isn't alone in thinking a dockless bike share company can be worth over $200MM.

praneshp 8y ago

> I barely see anyone in SF use any of the bikeshare bikes. You're looking in the wrong places. I see them being used all the time. The last few days, there've also been a bunch of scooters ($1 to start, can park without locking).

cepth 8y ago

If you’re interested, give this podcast from Recode a listen: https://www.recode.net/2017/8/18/16165116/brad-bao-limebike-bicycle-sharing-recode-too-embarrassed-to-ask-podcast-kara-swisher-lauren-goode https://www.recode.net/2017/8/18/16165116/brad-bao-limebike-.... According to Brad Bao of Limebike, generally the cost of a bike is covered in 4 months. In a recent Time magazine piece on bike sharing, the Chinese company Ofo is listed as being able to produce a bike for $50 USD. Assuming you’re charging $1 per hour, and even factoring in depreciation and maintenance, I don’t think it’s hard to see how bikesharing could be financially lucrative. These bike sharing startups may actually have a business that is capable of generating an operating profit. The trouble comes when they produce 2x or 3x the bikes needed in a city, and end up with junkyards full of bikes.

s17n 8y ago
Jump bikes are electric assisted drive, they are gonna cost an order of magnitude more than $50 to build.
- cepth 8y ago
  From the LimeBike podcast interview transcript: 'Right. The unique economics then comes back to the start. There are two parts. To the bike itself is straight up that all bikes are roughly about $300 at a manufacturer cost. You’re looking at retail price of this equivalent bike, maybe $900 to $1,000. Manufacturer’s bike, the top bike manufacturer in the world.'. They charge $1 for a 30 minute ride. If we believe that they recoup the cost in 90 days, they're doing $3.33 in revenue per day, or roughly 3.33 half-hour rides per day. The breakeven on the bike itself would be at 300 rides at $1 each. A quick Google search shows that well-reviewed e-bikes are commercially available from $650 and up. JUMP charges $2 per half-hour ride (per their website). They would need to generate 325 rides to break even. It doesn't seem that the payback period on the bike itself is meaningfully longer than a traditional bike. Keep in mind, this is assuming that JUMP is paying anything close to retail on e-bikes. Anyone who visits a HKTDC or Canton Fair trade show will have seen that there are some seriously impressive e-bikes (folding, lightweight, 15MPH), available for a fraction of $650 if you're buying in bulk. EDIT: Changed $6.66 in revenue per day to $3.33. My mistake.