Somehow, you knew something like this was going to happen.
Uber is getting into the scooter-rental business.
The ride-hailing company said Monday that it is investing in Lime, a startup based in San Mateo, California.
“Our investment and partnership in Lime is another step towards our vision of becoming a one-stop shop for all your transportation needs,” Rachel Holt, an Uber vice president, said in a statement.
Uber will add Lime motorized scooters to the Uber mobile app, giving consumers another option for getting around cities, especially to and from public transit systems, Holt said.
[…]
Rival Lyft is looking for new rides too. Last week, it bought part of a company called Motivate that operates Citi Bike and other bike-sharing programs in several major U.S. cities including New York and Chicago. It will rename the business Lyft Bikes.
It makes sense, I guess. They’re both app-based transportation services, and they both have a, shall we say, laissez-faire attitude towards local regulation. San Antonio is trying to make things work for the scooter invasion there, and when I saw that story my first thought was “eh, it’s just a matter of time before the scooter venture funders start lobbying the Lege for their own rideshare-like legislation”. I was kind of joking when I thought it, but now it doesn’t seem so crazy. Anyway, look for this on your Uber app soon.
I just don’t see how this is a viable business model in Houston. Maybe it would do better in tourist laden areas, where tourists would use the scooters to go museum hopping or something.
Kuff, got any info on ‘B-Cycle’ and how that’s going? I’d say it’s safe to say that if B-Cycle is a dud, this will be too.