Uber set to shake up transport in city and eastern suburbs
Uber’s electric bike service is set to shake up transport in Norwood, Payneham & St Peters after the council gave the company permission to launch 300 bikes.
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UBER’S electric bicycle service will roll into the city of Adelaide and an eastern suburbs council area from next week as part of a 12-month trial.
The bright red Jump e-bikes, which can reach 25km/h and travel on either the footpath or road, are being launched in the Norwood, Payneham and St Peters neighbourhood as well as the CBD.
This new commuting option will cost riders $1 to unlock the bike, then 38 cents a minute.
Up to 300 of them, across both council districts, will be available from March 5 on the same app Uber uses for its car ride-share network.
The new service, which could expand into other areas in the future, has created about 30 Jump technician jobs.
Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Mayor Robert Bria hoped it would encourage people to take advantage of local bike routes, including the River Torrens cycling path and the Beulah Road bicycle boulevard in Norwood.
He said the decision to bring e-bikes to the eastern suburbs was made in confidence “some time ago”.
“Cycling is a great mode of transport and offers a range of health, environmental, economic and social benefits for our community, which is why providing cycling infrastructure is a priority for the council,” Mr Bria said.
He maintained the bikes would not be an “eyesore” for residents.
“These will integrate quite well into other cycling infrastructure and bikes that people use on an everyday basis,” Mr Bria said.
Geo-fencing technology, similar to the system that tracks e-scooters, will be used to ensure they do not go outside defined council boundaries, as well as showing where each member of the Jump fleet is parked.
The three-gear e-bikes also have built-in cable locks so they can be secured to parking docks.
Riders have to follow road rules and wear helmets.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said the uptake of e-scooters in the city and North Adelaide showed emerging transport options were a success.
She did not expect users to vandalise the bicycles, or throw them into the River Torrens, which became a problem back in 2018 when Ofo bikeshare operated.
“That was a while ago,” Ms Verschoor said. “I do trust people and I hope they will look after them beautifully – they will be a great addition to the city.”
Jump general manager Henry Greenacre expected the e-bikes would be popular, despite two e-scooter companies and a pushbike company already operating in the city.
“A really interesting part of launching an e-bike system in conjunction with an existing e-scooter system is we find that people use them for different means,” Mr Greenacre said.
“They (the e-bikes) are slightly faster and they also are more comfortable over a longer distance.”
Jump bikes have been controversial in some cities through riders dumping them across footpaths rather than using docking stations.
They are also being launched in Melbourne, on March 4.