New Uber Services to Include Electric Bikes, Car Rentals, Public Transport
Uber is moving beyond being a ride-hailing platform, and that’s good news for everyone wanting to do away with car ownership.
Earlier this week, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced bike sharing, car rentals and the ability to pay public-transportation fares will be available through the Uber app in select locations.
“Having a greater variety of transportation modes at your fingertips helps make it increasingly easy to live without a car,” Khosrowshahi wrote in a company news release.
Uber has acquired JUMP Bikes, an electric bike-sharing company. Uber Bike By JUMP was initially piloted in San Francisco earlier this year. Now, the service is expanding to Washington, D.C.
Riders use the app to locate a bike nearby, unlock it using a code and then lock it up when they’re finished with it. The bikes don’t have to be returned to a specific docking station. JUMP Bikes’ website states bikes can be rented for $2 for 30 minutes.
For those who need more than a bike to get where they’re going — and also need more than Uber’s current single-trip service — the company will give users the option to rent vehicles.
Instead of modeling after a traditional service like Hertz or Enterprise, Uber is partnering up with Getaround, a peer-to-peer car-sharing service. This means renters will borrow cars from vehicle owners in their area — either at an hourly or daily rate.
Getaround’s website advertises rental rates starting at $5 an hour and claims the average vehicle owner makes $6,000 a year by renting out his or her car.
Khosrowshahi said the car-rental service will kick off in San Francisco later this month.
Uber has even figured out a way to connect to public transit riders. Khosrowshahi said the company is partnering with Masabi, an online platform where people can purchase public-transit tickets.
No more fumbling with loose change or a MetroCard. Users will be able to pay for public-transit trips using the Uber app, though the company didn’t specify where or when this feature would roll out.
The Verge reports Masabi’s ticketing technology is currently being used by several public transit systems, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York and Metrolink in Los Angeles.
The Washington Post reports the partnership with Masabi also will let users in select cities view transit maps and schedule information within the Uber app.
Nicole Dow is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
