[ad_1]
It's official: The [âgée de 133 ans] bicycle of is the coolest of technology. Today, Lyft has announced the acquisition of Motivate, the largest bicycle operator in North America, for $ 250 million. The move comes just three months after rival Uber took over Jump Bicycles, a smaller, faster, $ 200 million, dockless electric bike business. Thus, the urban transport war turns into high gear, as the fight moves towards the bike path.
In a blog post, Lyft announced that it would take over Motivate's technology and functions, including its city contracts. (Motivate's motorcycle maintenance and repair activities will remain an arm's length activity.) Last year, Motivate was responsible for nearly three-quarters of bike trips in the United States.
At first glance, the acquisition of Motivate will be renamed Lyft Bikes-makes a ton of sense. Transit companies are concerned that vehicles such as bicycles and scooters will reduce their business by offering people cheaper, non-commuting options for short trips in dense areas. So, instead of fighting these new modalities, the giants of the ride bought them.
But the last purchase of Lyft is not only to consume another piece of the transport cake, because Motivate brings more than just bicycles. He brings contracts with cities and long-standing relationships with city officials who have forged them. This could be the kind of benefit that Lyft needs to dominate transportation across the city's landscape, no matter what mode you choose. If, that is, he can answer some pesky questions.
Relationships
Motivate has agreements with a decade with some of the largest cities in the United States, including Boston, Chicago, New York, the District of Columbia and San Francisco Bay Area. Some of them (including New York, the Bay Area and Boston) are exclusive, which means that no one else is allowed to cycle in the area.
Yes, there were exceptions. The municipal transportation agency in San Francisco has managed to carve an asterisk for a 250-bike rider by the Jump-Free Bicycle Company (yes, the one acquired by Uber), but this small concession came after aggressive arbitration with Motivate. Lyft says that its acquisition will not affect Motivate's existing contracts.
But is it true? Uber also looked closely at Motivate before Lyft cut the check, and a source familiar with these negotiations said that Uber feared that these contracts would give way to cities to renegotiate or even cancel the exclusivity if the control of the company changed hands
The spokesperson of the Motivate City Department of Transportation, Motivate, said: "The City must first review the approval process." A spokesman for the Bay Area A spokesman for DC DOT denied: "It would be premature for the agency to comment on the agreement, but we look forward to continued expansion of Capital Bikeshare. ") [19659003] The prospect of losing this exclusivity should make Lyft a bit nervous. BPC and scooter companies, such as Bird, Lime, Ofo, and now Uber, are eager to get on the city's sidewalks, and not having to deal with the Motivate monopolies could make it easier for them. task. Lyft and Motivate spokespersons did not answer questions about the exclusivity of city contracts.
Real Estate
One thing that Lyft definitely gets out of this business: a lot of self-service bike stations. The conventional wisdom around Silicon Valley is that dockless, unanchored systems are the future, so this may seem pointless. Indeed, using an anchored system comes with higher capital costs – you have to install and maintain all these stations, after all.
But these busy corners – most in the city center, near public transit – could be very useful. a ride-hailing company. Increasingly, Uber and Lyft have acknowledged that they need more to hold back real estate. Going down and picking up riders in bike lanes or in the middle of busy roads is dangerous and disruptive, and both companies have experimented with pick-up and drop-off areas licensed by the city. These areas should reduce traffic and tickets for drivers and make it easier for customers to find routes.
So it's not crazy to think that Lyft could use this new real estate to build what urban transport nerds have been dreaming about for years: hubs, "where riders topple between a bike and a car and the public bus and subway Could a station be a place to load electric bicycles and scooters and maybe even cars? Keep your eyes on the corners and, of course, the limits of Motivate's contacts, which probably limits what Lyft can do with these spaces.
The Amazon for Transportation
The idea of a physical space where users can choose between different kinds of modes of transport that fits well with another big ambition Lyft and Uber: become the inescapable application for urban transport.A "mobility market" for all. [19659003] "All trips will not be made by Lyft, "says Susan Shaheen, a mobility engineer at UC Berkeley. "The acquisition of bike sharing stations and assets is a step forward and perhaps a competition with self-reliance and private use."
In other words: Lyft and Uber would like you to open their app every time you go home, even if you know you want to take a public bus or a scooter. In fact, Lyft and Uber have applied for licenses to operate scooter companies in San Francisco. Uber also unveiled in April a partnership with Masabi, the mobile ticketing company, which will allow some commuter train runners to buy their tickets directly from the Uber application
"We want to be the first one. 39, Amazon for transport ". Khosrowshahi said in May. Lyft wants to come in too.
More great stories from WIRED
Source link
