Uber’s New Training Wheels: Testing Bike Sharing in San Francisco
It is working with Jump Bikes, a bike-sharing service
that secured a permit in January to put 250 motorized bicycles — making it easier to tackle San Francisco’s steep hills — in locations throughout the city.
Unlike the rows of Ford GoBikes available around the Bay Area or Citi Bikes in New York City, which have designated pickup
and drop-off locations, Jump bikes are left on the sidewalk — attached to a public bike rack or (hopefully) out of the way of pedestrians — once riders reach their destination.
Uber said it saw the bicycles as yet another option for riders — alongside car-pooling
and rides on the less expensive Uber X or the pricier Uber Black.
Uber will target people who often travel within the areas of the city where the bikes are available,
while allowing other customers to join a wait list for the service, the company said.
The idea is that people will see the bicycles as a cheaper
and faster alternative — not a huge stretch of the imagination for anyone who has been stuck in Friday evening gridlock traffic in San Francisco.
