Lyft buys the largest Bikesharing operator in the United States to face Uber

Lyft and Uber may have started with cars, but recent moves show the growing interest of carpool companies for a simpler mode of transportation – the humble bicycle.

Take Lyft. Motivate, the largest motorcycle operator in the United States, has announced the acquisition of $ 250 million.

Lyft, based in San Francisco, said the agreement would give him the opportunity to "revolutionize urban transportation".

If you do not know how to motivate by name, you might know some of its bike sharing services, among them CitiBike in New York, Capital Bikeshare in Washington DC, and Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway) in Boston. It also operates bike sharing services in Chicago, Portland, Jersey City and Columbus. Data from the National Association of Urban Transportation Managers revealed that in 2017, Motivate's US motorcycle programs covered nearly 75% of the 35 million trips in 2017.

"Lyft and Motivate have been committed for years goal to reduce the need to own a personal car by providing reliable and affordable ways to get around our cities, "said John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft. of the two companies "will accelerate our collaboration with cities and provide better experiences for our passengers and passengers."

Steve Koch, Executive Chairman of Motivate, said the agreement would result in "new resources and an energy this bikeshare plays a fundamental role in the new urban mobility. "

Recent reports have suggested that Uber was also interested in Acquisition of Motivate. Whatever the case may be, Uber nevertheless entered into a similar agreement in April, acquiring New York-based Jumpbikes just months after being associated with the company for a testing service.

. Bicycle rental spaces are offers for better control of urban transportation options that could eat away at their core carpooling activities. The growing popularity of bike share services has persuaded Lyft and Uber that two-wheelers can play an important role in their future operations and even facilitate their carpooling work.

For example, Lyft could transform the car's stations. Motivate home in up and downhill areas where guests can also go from a Lyft bike to a Lyft car safely and conveniently, or vice versa. He is already experimenting with such a project in Baltimore after investing in the city's bike sharing service in February.