Uber to redirect focus to bikes and electric scooters

Uber intends to focus more on its electric scooter and bike business as it says individual modes of transport are better-suited to inner city travel. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, believes users will make more frequent, shorter journeys in the future, the Financial Times reports. "During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person ten blocks,” he says. Uber’s Jump electric bikes are now available in eight US cities such as San Francisco and Washington DC, and are
August 28, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

8336 Uber intends to focus more on its electric scooter and bike business as it says individual modes of transport are better-suited to inner city travel.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, believes users will make more frequent, shorter journeys in the future, the %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Financial Times Financial Times website link false https://www.ft.com/content/986d878a-a7c4-11e8-8ecf-a7ae1beff35b false false%> reports.

"During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person ten blocks,” he says.

Uber’s Jump electric bikes are now available in eight US cities such as San Francisco and Washington DC, and are set to launch in Berlin.

The ride-sharing company has also joined forces with electric scooter company Lime.

Khosrowshahi recognises that Uber makes more money from a car journey than a bike trip - but says this would be offset as users engage with the app more regularly for shorter journeys.
"We are willing to trade off short-term per-unit economics for long-term higher engagement."

The move comes as Uber announced it was to supply its proprietary self-driving system to %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Toyota Sienna Minivans Uber website link false https://www.uber.com/newsroom/uber-toyota-team-self-driving-cars/ false false%>. “Rather than owning and operating the fleet of self-driving vehicles, these minivans will be owned and operated by an agreed upon third party, a new business model for Uber,” the company said in a statement.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Intelligent parking barrier
    February 28, 2014
    The Barrier.Gate, an intelligent barrier system from Skidata, is an inexpensive solution for long-term parking facilities because it combines column and barrier in one product. Less consumption of energy and space are among its sustainable benefits. The barrier communicates via light signals of the integrated track light, while the built-in camera helps to prevent vandalism and unauthorised entry through a closing barrier.
    Read More
  • Registration now open for 2016 ITS World Congress
    April 18, 2016
    Registration is now open for the five-day 23rd ITS World Congress, to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Australia from 10-14 October 2016. More than 7,000 international delegates are expected to attend the Congress, hosted by ITS Australia, on behalf of ITS Asia Pacific, Ertico and ITS America, the Congress theme is ITS - Enhancing Liveable Cities and Communities. The Congress will include Plenary and keynote speakers, special interest sessions and more than 300 exhibitors.
    Read More
  • PPP showcases wrong way driving countermeasure
    March 20, 2018
    Professional Pavement Products (PPP) and president Greg Driskell are unveiling the Lanealert2x pavement marking for the first time internationally. The solution is designed to combat wrong way collisions. LaneAlert 2x, according Driskell, is a polyurethane marking that can appear as a white or yellow line that changes to red or uses arrows when drivers are going the wrong way. Additionally, PPP has developed directional messages that provide Do Not Enter and Wrong Way alerts. “We love this technology an
    Read More
  • Noptel highlights Speeder X1 and CMP52 sensors
    March 19, 2018
    Finland-headquartered Noptel is highlighting its Speeder X1 and CMP52 laser distance measurement sensors, developed for traffic control and law enforcement applications. The Speeder X1 laser radar exploits a dual laser transmitter, providing overlapping vehicle profile analysis for precise vehicle speed measurement, as well as for vehicle height and length determination. Meanwhile, the accurate and reliable CMP52 single beam laser radar is designed for a wide variety of traffic control and law enforcement
    Read More

Highlighted Content