With Uber’s investment, Lime is getting back into the local bike share game
A Jump bike. Credit: JumpCNBC:
Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi outside the New York Stock Exchange ahead of the company's IPO, May 10, 2019.
Uber is leading a $170 million investment round in Lime, the electric scooter and bike rental company announced Thursday.
Bain Capital Ventures, Alphabet and separately its venture capital arm GV are also participating in the financing round, Lime said.
Under the deal, Uber will transfer its own electric bike and scooter division called Jump to Lime and the companies will further integrate their apps. Lime global head of operations and strategy Wayne Ting will become CEO of Lime while outgoing CEO Brad Bao will become chairman.
Lime had recently suspended bike operations here in Seattle and was in the process of switching to a scooter-only offering once the city's scooter pilot was in place. Lime's valuation has dropped by 80%, according to The Information ($).
Now it appears that Lime bikes will be back and Uber's JUMP brand will be disappearing. I think most people agreed that the JUMP bike experience was superior (I know I felt that way), so it's good to read that Lime's new CEO agrees.
Despite a huge drop in bookings due to the coronavirus, Uber still has $10B in cash on hand to try and be the last one standing in the shared economy business: the company is reportedly looking at taking over Grubhub as well.
Meanwhile, Lime is optimistic about post-COVID prospects:
[CEO Wayne] Ting's bet is that people are going to emerge from the pandemic wanting more socially distanced transit options, like bikes and scooters, instead of opting for crowded transit options, a stance echoed by rival Bird.
Already in some of its restarted cities, like Berlin and Columbus, Ohio, Lime is seeing average trip fares go up as people ride scooters for longer distances. Seoul is back to nearly all-time highs, Ting said.