Lyft has confimed on Monday that is has aquired Motivate, North America’s largest bike-share operator. The aquisition has reportedly been worth $250 million.
You best believe the urban transportation war got another name in the fight, considering Uber took over Jump Bicycles just three months earlier.
It makes sense the company would try to get in the bike sharing business though – bike sharing is one of the top options that threaten the position of car-hailing in the urban environment, so instead of fighting bikes, it makes more sense to just join them.
But there is more to it: the Motivate aquisition also comes with city contracts and long standing relationships with city officials, which is what might put Lyft at the top of the game faster than it normally would if they were to be be starting from scratch.
The Motivate bikes are docked, unlike Uber’s Jump bikes, but the company is experimenting with pedal-assist bikes and dockless ones too, with Lyft insisting they will continue to put their resources into those projects.
Lyft (and Uber too!) has also reportedly applied for permits for scooter-share businesses in San Francisco. Their ambition is thus quite simple and straightforward: have Lyft become the app you open as soon as you take a step out the door.
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