Uber’s dockless electric bike share scheme is about to launch in Melbourne. From March 2020, Melburnians will be able to use Uber’s Jump e-bikes to dash around the city.
Four hundred electric Jump bikes will be placed throughout the City of Melbourne council from 6am on March 4 as part of a one year trial. Additional bikes will be introduced to the City of Yarra and City of Port Phillip as the trial progresses.
Melbourne joins more than 30 other cities across the world who use Jump bikes, including Berlin, London, Paris, Miami and Auckland. The scheme uses the same technology as Uber, with riders using the app to locate their nearest bike.
The announcement comes after these three inner-city councils signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Uber indicating how the electric bikes will be parked and maintained so that they do not cause a nuisance.
Melbourne has had issues with bike share schemes in the past. Perhaps most infamous was oBike, whose signature yellow pushbikes were removed in 2018 after being used for everything but riding.
City of Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said, “Share bike schemes are widely used around the world without the anti-social behaviour experienced previously in Melbourne. We believe locals and visitors will work with Jump and our councils to make this a success.”
The last bike share scheme to run in the city was Melbourne’s original blue bikes, which were scrapped late 2019 due to lack of use.