JUMP Bikeshare investing in Seattle

Seattle has been one of the fastest growing city in the U.S. for several years. This has brought opportunity and challenges. While adding 45,000 jobs, single occupancy vehicle rates only increased by 3%, and Seattle has become a model for cities for how to grow jobs without crippling congestion. How? It starts with giving people options to get around.

As the city launches the second iteration of dockless bikeshare, JUMP became the latest company to enter the Seattle bikeshare market on November 19. This is an important milestone, made possible by two trends that deserve special attention.

The first is the growth in investment from companies like Uber (JUMP’s parent company) to expand the range of mobility options. JUMP’s arrival in Seattle is slated to bring more than 6,000 bikes and 100 jobs to the city. Uber is not alone in this change but they are one of the largest players, investing millions in new bike technology and advocacy to reduce congestion and increase convenient and affordable mobility choices. People in Seattle are now able to open the Uber app and select between Ride and Bike, making it easy for customers to find all the nearby JUMP bikes custom-designed specifically for long-lasting urban bikeshare use.

The second trend is innovation in Seattle’s bikeshare. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) deserves praise for its incremental approach and evolved thinking. Following the initial pilot where over 2M rides were taken, SDOT applied the lessons learned to the next permit requirements. In addition to an expanded number of bikes, Seattle will now see better availability of bikes in low-income neighborhoods and tailored tools for low-income users to access the bikes. JUMP has a Boost Plan for lower-income riders, giving riders 60 minutes free per day at a cost $5 per month. The new permit requirements also call for innovations in adaptive opportunities and expanded bike parking with more racks and corrals.

The city’s continued growth and the urgency of climate change demand we build more efficient ways to get around, and we are energized by the potential represented by 20,000 bikes coming to Seattle’s streets. But everyone who rides in Seattle, including the people who are riding the new shared bikes, knows the need for safe, connected, and intuitive routes. Every person biking, walking or using transit is a person not taking a car, which is a net positive for our community. JUMP’s entry to the city sends a strong message to the city to continue to invest in essential bike infrastructure.