Uber to jump into South Side bike share competition
Ride- sharing company Uber on Monday will roll out a dockless bike share service on the South Side as the latest company to try to serve the area without Chicago’s flagship bike- sharing service, Divvy.
The dockless bikes Uber will be debuting, called JUMP, is unlike Divvy in that it uses “lock- to” technology. While Divvy bikes must be docked at stations across the city, JUMP bikes have a built- in lock that allow the bike to be attached to a nearby rack, sign post or fence, and left for the next rider.
The bikes will be accessible via the usual Uber app that people use to hail cars or the JUMP app. Uber bought JUMP in May, and the service has been operating in Washington, D. C., Santa Cruz, Sacramento and San Francisco. Rides will cost $ 2 per 30 minutes.
Divvy bikes cost $ 3 per half hour. Unlimited 3- hour passes within a 24- hour period for $ 15 are also available, but rider must switch out the bike at scattered stations around the city.
Uber’s service will launch with 100 dockless electric bikes that give users amotorized boost with each pedal allowing for less intensive travel and easier uphill riding. It’ll ramp up to 250 bikes after the launch, an Uber spokesperson said.
JUMP is the latest service to wade into the increasingly competitive Chicago bikeshare market kicked off by the city’s pilot program for dockless bike rental, which runs until Nov. 1. The pilot area encapsulates a 20- square- mile block of the Far South Side without Divvys.
LimeBike recently debuted an electric dockless bike- sharing program on the South Side that uses similar technology as part of the pilot program, as did a company called Pace.