Uber launches electric bike charm offensive
Uber, the ride-hailing company that has been banned from many European cities, is launching its JUMP electric bicycle-sharing service in Germany as the company diversifies and seeks to build bridges with local authorities.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made the announcement at a conference in Berlin as dozens of German taxi drivers outside waved placards that read “Uber go Home”.
“I want this to signal a deep commitment to Germany,” Khosrowshahi said, arriving on stage with a bright-red JUMP bicycle. “Germany is a little bit of a signal of what the new Uber can be like .... We want to work with local governments and cities to make our model work.”
Protests in Europe by traditional taxi drivers have in the past turned violent and court bans have forced Uber to shut down some of its services, including in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
Additionally, Uber and other ride-hailing app-based firms have been accused of causing congestion in big cities like London. Uber bought the JUMP start-up to become the go-to app for urban transport, allowing people to book trips across a range of services.
Its dockless electric bike has already been rolled out in San Francisco, where there are 250 bikes, and Washington.
After sweeping through China, bike sharing has spread to Europe and North America, with US players seeking to keep pace with the international forays of Chinese rivals.
Berlin has been swamped with brightly coloured bicycles in the past year, including from China’s Mobike and Ofo, and US start-up LimeBike, with the authorities now trying to regulate the number of bikes as they block sidewalks and are dumped in parks.
Khosrowshahi said Uber wants to bring JUMP to Berlin by the end of the summer and launch in other European cities in coming months. It will also start a fully electric Uber Green service in Berlin later this year, following its launch in Munich.
“Uber stands ready to help address some of the biggest challenges facing German cities: tackling air pollution, reducing congestion and increasing access to cleaner transportation solutions,” he said.