Uber to expand electric-bike sharing service to Europe

In an effort to protect the environment, ride-sharing company Uber is expanding its electric-bike sharing service to Europe. Giving a keynote speech at the NOAH18 conference, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced that the company will start renting electric bikes in Berlin from this summer and in other European cities later.

In the US, Uber started testing JUMP electric-bike service in San Francisco in early February and in Washington DC in April. Currently, Uber bike rental service is available in San Francisco, Washington DC, Santa Cruz and Sacramento. The company, which halted the testing of its self-driving cars in March, acquired e-bike startup firm JUMP in April.

JUMP, which launched dockless bike share system in the US in 2013, rents the electric bike at a cost of approximately $2 for 30 minutes in the home country. Competitive pricing when compared to the taxi sharing rides and the ease of riding gives a great advantage to the e-bike sharing companies. But Uber will have tough competition in Germany from its rivals, which include Obike, Mobike, and LimeBike.

Uber will start renting electric bikes in Berlin from this summer and in other European cities later

Following the rival’s footpath, the San Francisco, California-based ride-sharing company Lyft is reported to grab Motivate, a New York City-based bicycle sharing company.  In February, Lyft partnered with Baltimore bike share app in a three-year deal.

Well, we are hoping all these efforts pay off, both for the companies and the environment.