The ride-hailing company Uber is introducing a new electric bicycle rental system in Mexico City through the Uber Jump application.
According to Uber executive Gui Telles, the bikes will be available for rent from 5:00am to 12:30am, starting Wednesday.
Roberto Fernández del Castillo, Uber’s director for mobility innovation in Latin America, said the initial fleet of 1,900 bikes can be rented in the Polanco, Anzures, Juárez, Condesa, Roma and Cuauhtémoc neighborhoods. In the future, the area will be extended according to Mexico City regulations, and the fleet will be expanded to a total of 4,800 bicycles.
After reserving a bike, users will have 10 minutes to find it using its GPS locator, scan its QR code and start their trip.
Unlike other similar services, the bicycles are freestanding rather than anchored to a base.
The cost is 10 pesos (US $0.50) to activate a bike and then 3 pesos per minute. All trips will have insurance from Axa, which protects the rider as well as third parties.
Uber joins two other companies, Motum and Dezba, which also offer anchorless bike rentals in Mexico City. Another company, Mobike, had its license suspended after failing to make required payments to the Mexico City government, and will not be allowed to operate until August 2020.
Source: Milenio (sp), Animal Político (sp)
