
Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore - brendannee
https://www.uber.com/ride/uber-bike
======
mmahemoff
There's a lot of room for improvement over the new wave of bike startups.

I had shockingly bad experiences with OBike - extremely inaccurate locations
for their bikes, broken seat, zero response from support when I explained I
couldn't lock the bike, and apparently no restrictions in the whole country,
so bikes end up all over the country as well as in people's residences or
workplaces (not to mention canals and rivers). They dumped hundreds of bikes
in central London and a couple weeks later there were none at all.

Mobike seems like they have their heads more switched on, but the seat on
current models is so low that their bikes (in London at least) are barely
usable to anyone at average adult height or above.

The official London scheme aka Boris Bikes is still the best, but restricted
to central London. The docks have three downsides over the newer model - (1)
docks can get full and (2) you still have the last-mile problem walking
to/from the dock (3) if unfamiliar with your destination, your ride ends
hunting around for a dock to park in or you have to plan ahead and remember
where to park ... even then it might be full.

One good thing though is they apparently move bikes around in vans to help
fill capacity (mainly because commuters move them central in the morning and
away again at night). I don't think the new wave of bike startups expanding to
new cities every week are hiring drivers to move their stock around.

~~~
toomanybeersies
OBike has been a shocking failure in Australia. Not necessarily from a
business perspective, but from an environmental one.

Because they aren't physically locked onto anything, it has become a game to
see what stupid place you can put an OBike. Recently they fished a couple of
dozen out of the Yarra River. People think it's amusing to just abuse them.
Half of them have the wheel lock broken off them, so they're free to ride.

I think it's an Australian culture thing, there is a lack of respect for
property. OBike seems to work a lot better in Singapore, where people have
respect for property.

~~~
Bendingo
> there is a lack of respect for property

Australians lack respect not just for (other's) property but for other people
and society in general.

In my opinion, Australians on the whole are rude and selfish.

~~~
toomanybeersies
On the contrary, I find most Aussies to be helpful and friendly people. Rude,
perhaps, but friendly.

I guess it depends on where you live. South Eastern and Central Melbourne is a
much nicer are than Bendigo (I assume you've at least been to Bendigo given
your username).

~~~
victorhooi
No, Aussies have a bit of a "larrikin" streak, to use the polite term.

As an Aussie, I'd term is as bordering on obnoxious and irresponsible at times
- and it saddens me to write this.

Whether in Europe, South America, or Asia, everybody has a funny story about
what we've allegedly done - whether it's pissing on the eternal flame in
Paris, stupid stunts with climbing temples in Cambodia, trying to plank on
idiotic places in Singapore hotel balconies, or just general pranks.

My parents are originally from Singapore, and like it or not, they at least
have the law and order thing down pat.

Look at the mess we've made with shopping trolleys from Coles/Woolworths...

So don't blame the bike companies for us deciding to do stupid things with
their property.

It's like somebody blaming a shop for graffiti, because they left their wall
empty...

~~~
Jedi72
> My parents are originally from Singapore, and like it or not, they at least
> have the law and order thing down pat.

I am prepared to put up with a bit of 'larrikinism' if the alternative is a
society where nobody ever questions/breaks the rules.

~~~
jakecopp
Like these ridiculous laws in Sydney:

\- Riding without a bicycle helmet: $319 \- Riding furiously, recklessly or
negligently (whatever that means): $425 \- Cycling on footpath and over 12
years of age: $106

I wonder if the laws are because Australians are "larrikins" or the other way
around.

------
AndrewWarner
I rode a Jump bike to work today. It's a magical experience.

Just as I struggle a bit to get up a hill, the bike's pedal assist kicks in
and helps me out. Ditto for when I'm stopped at a red light and need to get
riding fast.

The best part of these bikes are the fact that when I get to my destination, I
can lock them up to the closest pole or bike rack and just go.

~~~
dmix
What does 'dockless' bike sharing mean in practice. Where do you pick up the
ebikes? From the previous rider directly? How does charging the bikes work (or
do they self charge via friction)?

~~~
devindotcom
They lock themselves when you're done and just sit on the street. You're
supposed to put them out of the way of pedestrians. But the next person could
come any time afterwards - they'd see the location of the bike on their app.

"Rebalancing" trucks go around and move bikes in bad locations, bottoms of
hills, bushes, etc.

~~~
dschep
> They lock themselves when you're done and just sit on the street.

JUMP bikes lock to something, it's the majority of other dockless
providers(ofo, mobike, limebike, spin, etc) that lock their backwheel.

------
bbarn
Opinion: Bike sharing will never be more than barely above break even.

I am a big bike advocate. I have 12 bikes downstairs, I've raced, and nearly
every vacation I've taken in the last 15 years has been bike related. I don't
even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people, and I am an uber user
occasionally.

I still can't see this working. People like me, who absolutely love bike
commuting, we can't stop our bikes from getting stolen. With our 100 dollar
locks that are better security than what most people use on the front door of
their homes, they still get stolen. I have hope for humanity in general, but
my experience has been that people in America just don't consider a bicycle
worth any more than paper and ink in the office printer.

They will get treated with disregard, and even more so with an uber logo on
them.

~~~
skrebbel
> I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people

Taking this off topic but.. what? Why would _anyone_ "mind" e-bikes? I
recognize that you and me are probably in very different filter bubbles but
everyone I know is either ambivalent to them or a fan (and owner).

Here in NL bike commutes certainly increased. People used to mostly commute
within their city, but now that e-bikes don't suck, I know several people who
do 2x 30+km commutes by bike every day without breaking a sweat (literally).
And don't even get me started about enabling semi disabled people to bike
places again, it's fantastic. Isn't that super neat? What am I missing?

~~~
bbarn
You're missing a few things. One, bike paths here are designed for low speed
traffic, and narrow. In the last two years I've seen a lot of crashes from
ebikes on the bike path I ride to work. Two, they are practically motor cycles
now. Bigger tires, bigger helmets, faster speeds, all that, and no licensing
required.

That's on roads. The off road side it is trail damage, people getting stuck
out in places they normally couldn't go to, etc.

~~~
skrebbel
Thanks!

In fact I don't even recognize the e-bikes you describe. Our e-bikes are
normal city bikes (i.e. not sports bikes) but with a battery stashed
somewhere.

------
cpsempek
First of all, this is great. The thing that bike share programs lack IMO is
the tech and logistics savvy of a company like uber.

In Santa Monica and the west side of LA we have an electric scooter service
called Bird, which was started by a ex-lyft/uber excec, and it has been
successfull from an outsider's perspective. The most convenient aspect of this
service is that you can drop off the scooter anywhere you want, there are no
designated drop off zones, which is a true solution to the last mile problem.
Main issues they need to resolve from a user stand point is better inventory
allocation (hard to find a pair of or multiple scooters near each other for
multiple riders to travel together).

~~~
txcwpalpha
>The most convenient aspect of this service is that you can drop off the
scooter anywhere you want, there are no designated drop off zones, which is a
true solution to the last mile problem.

In Dallas, there are 6 different bikeshare companies that all operate with
this model of "leave the bike where ever you want when done", and it's
resulted in most of the city reviling all of the bikeshare companies. The
bikes end up left in the most inconvenient places: knocked over in the middle
of the sidewalk, stashed in bushes, knocked into fountains, blocking
accessibility ramps, on the side of a road where they can be hit by cars,
blocking train tracks, and just in general littered everywhere. You literally
can't walk a single block in downtown without seeing at least 50 bikes strewn
across the bushes/sidewalks/etc. The city is actually exploring ways to
restrict this type of "dockless" bike sharing because it's become such a
nuisance.

See some pics here: [http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-
mess-ph...](http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-mess-
photos-10228055)

~~~
komali2
I wonder if this could be explained as a culture difference - speaking as a
native Texan turned San Francisco resident, it is _my feeling_ (unbacked by
any other data) that here the community is more communal - compliance with
recycling/compost is greater, shared resources seem cleaner / more respected
(I don't see dockless bikes or Scoots left strewn around), and even in traffic
people generally defer to letting someone in to the lane or waiting for a
pedestrian (in Houston it's more typical to see people skipping exit lines and
trying to cut in at the last second, or aggressively cutting off pedestrians).

~~~
cardern
No I think the tragedy of the commons would still take hold in SF without some
kind of penalty in place (either by the company or by the government, or both)
for leaving the bike in a bad spot. Of course this will require a method of
enforcement as well.

------
tomp
For everyone else who's getting a 404:
[http://archive.is/HTfZh](http://archive.is/HTfZh)

I hope they don't handle bikes like their do their websites...

~~~
aglionby
The 404 seems to be geo-related; I used a US VPN and it loaded.

~~~
briandear
Geolocation is my biggest peave in all of the Internet. If I want <some
company>.fr or .co.uk — I’d type that.

------
bunderbunder
How do people who've used it feel about the dockless iteration of bike
sharing?

I've never had occasion to try it, but I'm very skeptical. It seems like
letting people leave the bike more-or-less wherever is optimizing the end-of-
ride experience at the expense of pretty much every other part of the
operation aside from actually riding the bike.

I don't think I'd want to start my morning commute by hunting around in an app
for a nearby bike (and hoping there is one) and then wandering around my
neighborhood trying to locate it. I'd much rather have the consistency of
walking to a known location near my house and grabbing a bike that I know will
be there.

I also don't know that, as someone who has to use the sidewalks when not
riding, I'd want to have these things just scattered all over the place. Which
I fear would be the case. When people are parking these things, it's not
_their_ bike, so they won't be so worried about doing a good job of it.

Last, having the bikes scattered at random has got to really do a number on
the logistics costs. Going to a relatively constrained list of known locations
to retrieve bikes that are due for maintenance sounds a lot cheaper to me than
having to drive all over the city, possibly including going to places where
the van can't go like random spots in the middle of public parks.

~~~
ISL
Dockless bikes in Seattle, in my experience, are a net win.

The downsides really are only haphazardly-parked bikes and large aggregations
of bikes in popular destinations. When those aren't problematic, it's great.

~~~
rconti
eg, at the waterfront, not uphill.

------
bkohlmann
I love the idea of integrating the lock so that it needs to be attached to an
existing bike rack. Lime bike and Ofo have infiltrated Dallas, and their bikes
are somewhat of an eyesore, especially as they are strewn everywhere.

It'll be interesting to see how they enforce the location requirement. i.e.
will you be charged if it's stolen because you didnt lock it on a rack? Will
they have a known database of every "suitable" bike rack and "nudge" patrons
towards them if they lock outside those regions?

~~~
devit
Ofo and Mobike bikes use locks that block the wheel's rotation and can thus be
parked anywhere.

Seems like forcing to use an existing bike rack would be a non-starter, since
the whole point of dockless bike sharing is that you can just leave the bike
in front of your destination regardless of what is there.

The "eyesore" factor is a trivial downside compared to the massive convenience
of just being able to park the bike anywhere.

~~~
txcwpalpha
It's not just a "trivial" eyesore in Dallas. It's gotten to the point where
there are so many of these dockless bikes around Dallas that there literally
isn't enough space on the sidewalk for them, so they start spilling onto
roads, train tracks (which cause delays and accidents), blocking
sidewalks/paths, etc.

Dockless sounds great in theory, but in practice, humans are assholes and have
no problem tossing the bike on the ground with no care to the fact that it's
now blocking the sidewalk, road, etc. Then you also have other people who have
no problem vandalizing bikes and essentially creating litter that other people
are then responsible for cleaning up.

See [http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-mess-
ph...](http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-mess-
photos-10228055)

~~~
jerrycruncher
Ditto in Seattle. And I think it's important to understand that it's not
primarily the riders (of whom there are very very few) who are paying to ride
these things and then dumping them wherever, it is the "assholes" employed by
the bike rental companies who are doing the park-uglifying, yard-infringing,
sidewalk-blocking bike spamming.

"Dockless" in theory is only nice if there are a limited number of bikes in
distribution. In practice, it means that the employees of the bike rental
companies will leave as many of their bikes as they can wherever they want for
however long they want (case in point: late last fall there were at least 40
bikes dumped by three rental companies on one two block length of one street
in my neighborhood). Cities with city councils that actually care about the
quality of life of their residents (SF, Oakland) moved quickly to prohibit
these rental companies from spamming their products all over streets, parks,
sidewalks, yards. The rest of us have to suffer.

~~~
txcwpalpha
That's exactly the issues that Dallas is going through right now. A few of the
bikeshare companies (Ofo, Mobike) are Chinese companies that mass produce
cheap bicycles and they don't really seem to care if the bikes get
damaged/lost, so they are pretty careless about where and how they place them.
I've personally witnessed one of the bikeshare trucks slowly driving down the
street while someone in the back literally just threw bikes off the truck onto
the sidewalk.

The bikeshare companies also currently seem to be using the method of spamming
bikes _everywhere_ and hoping they get used, rather than trying to place them
where they are actually needed. There was a picture of one of the companies in
Dallas placing bikes on the side of a highway, with no pedestrian access, no
sidewalks, and nothing even resembling a bike lane. That's just dangerous.

Fortunately the city is starting to crack down on them a bit, but it's a real
shame that these companies took a cool idea and are pretty much ruining it
with their piss-poor execution.

~~~
jerrycruncher
The part that irks me maybe the most is that every one of these bikes is both
an advertisement and a physical business. Dumping by individuals and
businesses is regulated/forbidden. Food trucks are regulated. Newspaper stands
are regulated. A corporation can't just set up a dozen kiosks in the middle of
a busy sidewalk. Yet spamming a thousand rental bikes willy-nilly around a
city is ok?

This whole thing is like a lab experiment in unregulated business expansion. I
can't believe it's gone on for as long as it has.

------
tgb
Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but how does an electric bike that can be
locked anywhere get charged? Do they have people going around replacing the
batteries when they get low? How long does a battery last anyway?

Edit: solar panel judging off pictures of the Jump bikes?

~~~
philip1209
Because it's assist - I wonder if it charges while braking

~~~
Xylakant
Practically no electric cycle charges via recuperation. This would only be
possible on bikes that have the motor attached to the wheel (either front or
back) and not for bikes that have the motor at the pedal (you’d need to have
the chain fixed and transmitting power when rolling) You could also only brake
with one wheel and bikes have the better brake on the front wheel due to
weight distribution but powered front wheels are uncommon. You’d also need a
set of sensors on the brakes, all the electronics for charging etc.

It’s usually just not worth it unless you live in a mountainous region. Bionix
from Switzerland offers recuperation but it’s the only one I know.

------
fooblitzky
I find the wave of bike shares a little odd, overall. Access to a bike seems
to be the least obstacle when considering commuting by bike - you could
probably buy a bike for less than the cost of renting one for a few months.
Larger concerns include riding in traffic, being struck by cars, and poor
weather. None of those are addressed by plonking a few bikes here and there.

~~~
aeorgnoieang
Commuting via your own bike is very much a more significant commitment. You
probably don't want to leave your bike near your destination. Whereas, with a
'shared' bike, you can commute _to_ somewhere, but take other transport back
home. Storing a bike can also be expensive if in no other way than space.

The Uber Bike tho is an electric bike; very much more expensive than a regular
bike (and much easier to ride).

------
cjensen
Abusing public bike racks to hold private rental inventory.

The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from
the city. Others allow leaving the bike in any location. It figures Uber would
attempt to get the benefits of a rack without paying for it.

~~~
darkstar999
Is finding bike parking a problem there? If not, why does it matter? "Abusing"
is a strong word. How about "using them for what they were made to do without
breaking any law or social contract".

~~~
cjensen
Yes. It's abuse because Uber presumably have a lot of bikes they would like to
inject into the system. Every bike displaces one available parking spot.

Suppose there's a small town with one bike lot at the library. Everyone keeps
their bike at home except to go to the library. Does the use of those bike
spots affect the public? Yes.

Would it be okay if Enterprise Car Rental used public spaces to hold their
inventory? No. That's not how rental companies work.

Perhaps there is no law, but I expect that to last about ten seconds after
Uber pulls this stunt.

~~~
darkstar999
You're arguing an invalid point. As a cyclist, I never have a problem finding
a place to park.

~~~
mmirate
That differs from city to city, sometimes even smaller than that.

Personally, one of the reasons I don't bother to use my bike very much is that
the bike racks near my undergraduate institution's lecture buildings - but not
their counterparts anywhere else in this city - are almost constantly packed
to the brim.

(And then there's the hills...)

------
yoavz
Does the price point of $2 for 30 minutes seem a little high to anyone? Ofo is
4x cheaper at $1/hour [1] in Seattle... even when taking into account the high
COL in SF and the extra benefit of electric bike, this seems excessive. A uber
pool with the express option can be $3-4 for a short bikeable ride, I think
I'd rather default to that in a majority of cases.

[1] [https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/8/15/16153622/ofo-bike-
share...](https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/8/15/16153622/ofo-bike-share-launch-
seattle)

~~~
owenversteeg
$1/hr seems pretty VC-subsidized. Assuming that the costs for one bike are
$900/year (including broken motors, lost bikes, theft, docks, rent for docks,
broken chargers, etc) that's 3 hours of trips needed per day... which might
not sound like a lot, but with 10 hours of daylight a day that's a pretty
large amount of usage IMO.

I live in the Netherlands, where everyone owns their own bikes. The biggest
bikeshare program is run by the national railways, with bikes available at any
station for €3.85/24 hours. They're non-electric, so probably cost about $200
per bike in bulk. I wish there were smaller rental periods available though.

[edit] googled bike costs out of curiosity, and apparently ofo builds their
own non-electric bikes in China, which cost only $36 each (!).

------
cocktailpeanuts
I would use this. I'm just concerned how they will deal with all the homeless
people and thieves stealing the body parts.

On that note, if this can succeed in SF it can succeed anywhere else. I once
left my bike in Tenderloin overnight (Of course I had the common sense to use
the U-lock) and the next morning I went back and found only the remains.

~~~
dumbfounder
I left mine U-locked in Chinatown, DC in the middle of the day on 4th of July
and it was stolen in less than 3 hours.

~~~
wyclif
What happens when you leave one of these locked in the Tenderloin? I don't
think I'd want to be next rider.

------
moonka
Interesting. In Seattle we now have 3 dockless bike shares (Spin, Lime and
Ofo). I think Lime is about to roll out electric bikes, but so far none are.
It makes riding up hills pretty rough, especially since they aren't geared
very well.

~~~
staplers

      I'd imagine they will need to classify them as "motor vehicles" which will require users to provide proof of a  driver's license with motorcycle endorsement to use them.
    
      Not really ideal for most casual users.
    

EDIT:
[http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/docs/equipmt/elect_bicycle.pd...](http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/docs/equipmt/elect_bicycle.pdf)

It appears by staying under 20 MPH they can avoid this.

~~~
spadros
E-bikes in Canada don't require a license and are not classified as "motor
vehicles". Only real requirement for the rider is to be 16+. More info over
here:

[http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/electric-
bicycles.sh...](http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/driver/electric-
bicycles.shtml)

~~~
rocky1138
The rider must also wear a helmet.

~~~
spadros
Well, yeah. You should always wear a helmet, though!

~~~
sporkland
That type of attitude may actually endanger cyclists more than helping them.

[http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k94/rr-2](http://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k94/rr-2)

------
mrmrcoleman
Page seems to have been moved:

"Sorry, we couldn’t find that page We’ve moved a lot of stuff over the years,
and it must’ve gotten lost in the mix. Please try retyping the address or just
head back to our home page."

This is the best link I could find with a quick search:
[https://jumpbikes.com/uber-bike](https://jumpbikes.com/uber-bike)

~~~
unicornporn
Same for me. They seem to block users outside USA (at least me). I turned on
my VPN (gives me american IP), then it worked.

------
canadianwriter
Hey Uber - your redirect rules really confuse here - it 404's. Maybe instead
have it go to a page that simply says "not available in your country" or go to
the American page but have an overlay asking if I want to go to a Canadian
page or something - the current way just leads to bad user experience.

------
CodeSheikh
A lot of metropolitan cities already have bike-to-rent programs e.g. CitiBike
in NYC, GoBike in SF. This looks like a quickly and sloppily put together plan
to hush noisy investors and shareholders. But hey it is never a bad idea to
have more bikes in SF. Especially innovative electric-assist ones.

~~~
devy
JUMP appears to offer electric-assisted bikes, which is different than
CitiBike/GoBike.

------
devy
I haven't seen anyone mentioned this nor on that page (sorry if I missed it),
but I think the biking sharing is a perfect complimentary step to solve the
last mile problem in mass transit system / ride sharing programs.

Bikes (or E-Bikes in this Uber/JUMP case) are zero-mission transportation
tools perfect for last mile extension from point A to point B in metropolitans
where mass transit system won't reach and/or can't reach. Same apply to car
sharing programs as there are some small alleys or hilly/twisty roads or
pedestrian walkways (maybe this is a stretch) etc.

If you have travel to big cities in South East Asia or Mediterranean you would
think it makes sense. They use a lot of mopeds but bikes/ebikes are better
because they burn fat rather than fossil fuel:)

------
2dvisio
I rode a similar built in Poland
([https://en.wavelo.pl/](https://en.wavelo.pl/)). And it was a very
comfortable one.

Actually, the jump ones look very similar. Maybe they are manufactured by the
same company?

------
artur_makly
[https://www.uber.com/ride/uber-bike/](https://www.uber.com/ride/uber-bike/)
\-- doesnt load anymore.

------
11thEarlOfMar
In case it's not otherwise posted, this is the first thing that comes to mind
when you say 'bike sharing startup':

[https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/edit...](https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/04/17/104406935-GettyImages-668015360_2.1910x1000.jpg?v=1492421816)

------
AndrewWarner
Looks like a lot of you can't access the site. You don't need Uber for this.

I've been using the JUMP iOS app. It's well-made and is available right now:
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jump-bikes-bike-
share/id1251...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jump-bikes-bike-
share/id1251322970?mt=8)

------
mattbee
I love using the Boris Bikes in London for the first time a couple of weeks
back - nice big sturdy things, but oh my word the system is shakey. The app
crashed a lot, then the terminals at the bike parks were "disconnected" and
couldn't process a hire. But is there much room for competition in bike hire?
Surely these things need massive city subsidies?

~~~
mmahemoff
The official Boris bike app is lame, but fortunately no user of Boris bikes
ever has to use it, as they have a solid API. You can get a fantastic
experience with apps like CityMapper, which incorporate Boris bikes into the
overall public transport landscape. They show you live maps with availability.
(Hopefully they'll integrate the newer bike platforms too soon.)

~~~
salvar
What has stopped me from using the Boris bikes is how unreliable the payment
system is. It seems like there's a 25% chance that any given bike station will
reject my card for an unknown reason.

------
mpermar
This can be great if they start putting bike racks within hotel properties,
which would be great for them too as there is a) easy access to people that do
not have vehicles, and b) hotel properties use to be "reasonably" safe for
parking.

In any case as someone mentions here, it can canibalize its own business we
hotel residents tend to use Uber-like services a lot.

~~~
dmix
This link wasnt loading on my phone but apparently JUMP is a 'dockless'
service. Not sure if they even have typical racks of bikes like other bike
share services.

------
sebleon
Rio de Janeiro had an awesome bike system in 2012. You could use an app to
unlock the bikes, find hubs, save your credit card info on the app, super easy
to use the bikes. This was all setup and subsidized by a local bank, surprised
more cities haven't been able to replicate this kind of system.

------
toomanybeersies
In Vietnam, they have Uber Moto, where it's like normal Uber but they use a
motorbike. It was definitely a surprise when I found out, but it makes sense,
since motorbikes are the standard form of transport there.

I wonder what other interesting regional options Uber has.

------
spraak
Observing these services connect in my own life has been interesting. The peak
moment where I really started to think about it was when I took an Uber to
pick up my Turo car then drove my Airbnb where I waited for my Instacart order
to arrive.

------
khalilravanna
Am I daft or does it only tell you it's for SF only when you click sign up? I
mean, I figured it was SF only but it's kind of annoying that I can't really
confirm that in any explicit way based on the landing page.

------
thewhitetulip
There is something called Peddle by Zoomcar in India and it is amazing.

------
beedogs
Nice to see Uber getting into the same "using public infrastructure instead of
building our own" scam that all these lousy private bike-sharing companies are
doing. Awful company.

------
yesimahuman
Sounds like Donkey Republic which I used (and enjoyed) in Denmark. Nice that
you can find/return a bike anywhere (not just in a designated rack). Looking
forward to doing this in the states

~~~
rconti
I used Donkey Republic in Munich and rather liked it; the bluetooth lock
functionality was pretty cool.

I used another vendor in Vienna but the experience was very 3rd world. The
location of the bikes was only approximate (the first 2 locations I looked had
no evidence of any bikes; thankfully the 3rd location had 2 bikes). They
weren't maintained, and the app just gave you a code to a cable lock which
means I could lock it after ending my ride, then someone else could come
along, use the same code, and the vendor would assume I was lying about where
I left it. Billing was handled through some sketchy place in Florida. I wish I
could remember the name.

------
yashksagar
Be prepared for a ton of bikes swimming around in the bay :D

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5e-fhUCxmk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5e-fhUCxmk)

~~~
DrScump
Sad that it took that Youtuber embarrassing OBike to make any attempt to
retrieve their bikes (47 in one trip, @5:15 into the video).

------
longerthoughts
I wonder how much this ends up cannibalizing their existing business
(imagining it would be a small fraction) vs attracting new customers away from
walking and public transit.

~~~
kyleschiller
Also possible that bikes are more likely to survive a post-SDC world.

~~~
btrettel
What is SDC?

~~~
joncrane
I believe it means Self Driving Car (from context that we're talking about
Uber here)

------
jsemrau
I think uber has a strategic problem in that they want to do everything,
everywhen, all the time. ... How about a bit of focus?

------
debt
Everyone of these I’ve come upon has been dead. I’m if that says anything
about just thought I’d contribute my two pence

------
dyeje
Cool to see ebikes getting pushed in the USA.

------
Thriptic
This looks substantially better than Hubway (the Boston bike share). Currently
you need to bring bikes from one dock to another dock, and as you would expect
commuting completely breaks this model. All the bikes move towards employment
centers, meaning docks get saturated and there is nowhere to park near
offices, and it's also impossible to find a bike anywhere in outlying areas.
This pattern reverses during the evening.

------
nemild
Isn't it a bit weird to have the waitlist form for such a large company be
hosted by a third-party (Typeform)?

~~~
kyleschiller
Since this entire "product" launch is a partnership + landing page, I'm
guessing 0 engineers were involved. Building a form isn't hard, but recruiting
an engineer, convincing them that building a form is a good use of their time,
and then actually getting it "shipped" takes 100x longer at large companies
than just giving Typeform your credit card.

~~~
darkstar999
> recruiting an engineer, convincing them that building a form is a good use
> of their time

Huh, you must have different experience with jobs. In my experience it's more
like "do this" and you say "ok".

------
wehadfun
Really these would be good for those that use public transportation to get to
their final destination. .

------
joncrane
How is this furthering Uber's agenda and position as a company?

~~~
loorinm
Many possibilities:

\- gain the remainder of users who perhaps can afford a bike ride but not an
uber to their destination

\- gather bike-specific data which could immensely improve safety for
autonomous vehicles

\- improve their horrible image by aligning themselves with environmentally-
friendly and traffic-alleviating transit

\- bikes are fully automated and require no troublesome humans to keep the
system going. Uber drivers a big hassle for Uber.

\- optimizing a bike rental system is a training ground for running an
autonomous car rental system

Just off the top of my head..

------
tanilama
Copy from China?

------
petagonoral
hitting that page from europe just shows

"Sorry, we couldn’t find that page

We’ve moved a lot of stuff over the years, and it must’ve gotten lost in the
mix. Please try retyping the address or just head back to our home page."

~~~
DBoFresh
Same in Canada.

~~~
frikk
"Be the first to ride.

Rent a convenient, easy-to-use electric assist bike provided by JUMP using
your Uber app. Join the list below and be one of the first to ride with Uber
Bike."

------
khc
Great news, the jump app is crap and won't even show me where the bikes are
before charging me

------
killbrad
I will never use this service and think Uber is a negative for society. It's
unfortunate that people don't see it.

------
madrafi
It's fair to say that the theory "everything evolves to go back to genesis" is
correct. Next thing is Airbnb promoting caves and tinder releasing match with
your hunter app. Somewhere in the middle Google will come with Fire App.

------
sharpercoder
1) it is showing pictures of a human riding a bicycle with a helmet. Please
don't promote helmets on bikes: they _reduce_ safety (for people 12+ yo). 2) I
get a 404 (NL) 3) JUMP is not linked - I don't know what it is untill I reach
the bottom of the page. 4) Although it is mentioned on the page, it is not
very clear this is SF only.

~~~
birdsink
After some quick google searching, I can't find any evidence supporting #1.
(So in the mean time while we figure this out, you should probably still wear
helmets while cycling, folks).

~~~
sharpercoder
[http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-bike-helmet-
paradox](http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-bike-helmet-paradox)

This article makes an important point: studies prove people in accidents have
significantly reduced head damage. However, not many studies prove that it
makes bicycling safer: instead, cyclers are perceived safer, and therefore it
is unsafer.

