Uber and Lyft face each other

The future of carpooling goes beyond cars to include electric scooters, bicycles and even public transit while on & on! Uber and Lyft are embarking on "new modalities". 19659003] It's a stylish way to say that both companies want to play a role in all the ways you go from point A to point B. In the end, they do not really care about how you circulate, as long as you do their platform.

Two recent movements emphasize how serious they are about it. On Monday, Lyft announced the acquisition of Motivate, the largest bicycle operator in North America. This follows the news that Uber is launching a "new modalities" unit to expand into motorcycles, scooters, and more.

"There is no doubt that both companies want to become full-spectrum transportation providers," said Junfeng Jiao, an assistant professor of community and regional planning at the University of Texas at Austin.

Uber, who, with a valuation of about $ 62 billion worth about four times more than Lyft, is leading the race so far.

In April, he landed Jump, a bike sharing service that operates in 40 cities. The company has also negotiated contracts with peer-to-peer car sharing start-up Getaround and with Masabi, which makes mobile ticketing for public transit. All of this is part of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's plan to make Uber your transportation service.

It is Rachel Holt who will lead the unity of the modalities. She made a name for herself by leading US and Canadian Uber operations. When she joined nearly seven years ago, Uber was present only in three markets. That number is now rising to 630 worldwide. Khosrowshahi wants her to apply the same expansion strategies to these new businesses, starting with bike sharing.

Holt tells CNNMoney that Uber has "aggressive plans" to develop Jump's business. Aggressive is a busy word for Uber, however, because the rapid expansion of the company under the leadership of its founder and former CEO, Travis Kalanick, has often seen it face the leaders of the regulators and municipal leaders. Khosrowshahi has taken a more diplomatic approach since taking office in August.

Related: Lyft acquires the parent company of Citi Bike, Motivate

Holt says she has not defined any growth criteria and says she believes that cities will find attractive adoption by Uber of other transportation options.

"The more we can have a holistic solution to the needs of a city, the better it is," she said. "In many cases, we now have very close relationships with the cities, because the many options besides the cars will continue to bring those relationships closer together.

Uber, like Lyft, also sees e-scooters playing a big role in urban transportation. Holt says it's too early to say whether Uber will develop its own scooters or make a strategic acquisition to get into the game. The company has applied for one of San Francisco's five permits (l & # 39; epicenter of the craze e-scooter). .

The rapid injection of cash into the start-up of electronic scooters requires from Uber and Lyft that to enter the space. Bird has raised $ 400 million in four months and is now valued at $ 2 billion. Lime, another great player, hopes to raise an additional $ 300 million in valuation north of $ 1 billion, according to new documents filed in Delaware Tuesday.

Related: Uber buys a bicycle business looking to expand beyond cars

Uber and Lyft have watched these companies reach billions of dollars worth much faster that & # 39; them. ", said Daniel Sperling, founding director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies and author of" Three Revolutions. "

Sperling said that exploration of new modes of transportation is" well aligned with "public interests and companies' own long-term goals." It's part of playing a bigger role in a "passenger-on-demand" service area, he said.

E-scooters and bikes may seem like niche markets, but they help Uber and Lyft solve the so-called "last mile" problem, said Erick Guerra, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in urban planning.

The last mile is to help people to go for example to a metro station or a carpool place to their final destination. According to Jonathan Levine, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan, scooters and bikes are great ways to do it. "Policy makers should welcome the entry of major players in this market," he said.

Of course, all this depends on the fact that Uber and Lyft play well with regulators, city officials and city dwellers – many of them express contempt for scooters and the high-tech bicycles that litter their streets. All efforts to develop new forms of transportation will have to go hand-in-hand with conversations about safety, public access and working with the communities that will be affected, said Mr. Levine.

Assuming these conversations go well, you might one day drive a scooter on a train in the morning and hail a car home at night – all in the same application.

CNNMoney (New York) First published July 3, 2018: 3:25 pm ET