Up to 300 bikes will be rolled out and parked in the Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip council areas from Monday 14 December, with a total of 800 bikes to be released in the coming months.

The bikes are not new to Melbourne. They were first made available in March 2020 by the Uber owned brand Jump, but were taken off the streets a few weeks later when COVID-19 first struck the city.

Jump was then sold to Lime, who acquired the bikes. The bikes have been re-skinned with some green Lime branding and Jump and Uber logos covered up, but they are still recognisable.

Lime say that with Melbourne coming out of coronavirus restrictions, the time is right to re-release the bikes.

“The company has been working with Melbourne councils while monitoring official health advice and determined now is the appropriate time to return to support local transport needs,” said Head of Government Affairs for Lime Australia and New Zealand, Lauren Mentjox.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the City of Port Phillip, City of Melbourne and City of Yarra to help people move around Melbourne in a sustainable, safe and socially distanced manner.”

There has been a price hike to hire the bikes, costing $1 to unlock and then 45 cents a minute to ride. When first launched in Melbourne, Jump bikes were 30 cents a minute to ride. They will now cost almost $8 for a 15 minute ride.

People can also buy a 24 hour pass for $16.99 or a monthly $5.99 subscription which waives unlock fees. The bikes can be hired in either the Lime or Uber apps.

Bicycle Network General Manager of Public Affairs and Marketing Anthea Hargreaves said that using a bike is still the easiest way to get around this summer.

“Riding a bike is the easiest way to get around the city – it’s faster than driving, helps with social distancing and finding a park is easy,” said Ms Hargreaves.

“It’s great to have sharebikes back in Melbourne and the timing is perfect now that the city is opening up again.”

A Lime bike on Canning Street in Carlton.

Lime bikes on Victoria Street in Richmond.

With an MoU struck to make sure bikes are parked properly and don’t block footpaths, councils are happy to have the bikes back and hope they will help people get around during this COVID summer and reduce carbon emissions from transport.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said all forms of transport needed to be encouraged to attract more workers and visitors back to the city.

“We want to provide as many options as possible for people to travel into the city so they can rediscover their favourite laneway bar, boutique retailer or coffee spot,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Jumping on an e-bike is a quick and convenient way to travel and we are hoping it encourages even more Melburnians to visit the city.

“We’re fast-tracking 40 kilometres of new bike lanes in the City of Melbourne, which will make it even easier for people to ride safely on our streets.”

City of Yarra Mayor Gabrielle de Vietri said e-bikes will play an important role in Yarra’s recovery from COVID-19.

“Getting people to move around more sustainably will help us build back better from the pandemic, and help lower carbon emissions in our great city.”

City of Port Phillip Mayor Louise Crawford welcomed the e-bikes as an easy, sustainable way of getting around Port Phillip.

“E-bikes are a great way to experience the beauty of our City and the exciting summer arts program being planned under our Live Love Local campaign. We are adding new bike lanes to our existing network so there are plenty of great options for bike riders to enjoy,”

Good Cycles will service and maintain the bikes to make sure batteries are charged, tyres pumped up and that bikes are parked properly and available in accessible locations. Bikes will also be regularly cleaned and sanitised and helmets available with the bikes.

How to hire Lime bikes using the Lime app

Download the Lime app at www.li.me

1. Open the Lime app.
2. View the Lime map to locate available e-bikes.
3. Go to the nearest e-bike.
4. Use the Lime or Uber app to scan the vehicle’s QR code or enter the 7-digit number on the wheel hub to unlock the bike.
5. Retract the lock from the rear wheel to start and off you go.
6. Once you’re finished riding, lock the bike using the built in cable lock.
7. Loop the helmet through the cable lock before locking so it’s there for the next rider!

The Lime map will show you places where you cannot park your bike, which includes anywhere outside the Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip council areas. It also highlights preferred parking locations for bikes.

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Brisbane City Council decided to cut the CityCycle scheme which has waned in popularity since electric scooters came on to the scene.

The council is going to tender for the e-bike scheme and is looking for two separate operators to supply a total of 2,000 e-bikes, about the same number of bikes as the CityCycle scheme.

“Brisbane has embraced the CityCycle scheme over the past 10 years, but with ridership declining since November 2018, a decision needed to be made over the scheme’s future,” said Brisbane councillor Ryan Murphy.

“The reality is that CityCycle is not as popular as it used to be and COVID-19 has seen numbers reduced further. Today, there are five trips being taken on an e-scooter for every trip on a CityCycle.”

“We’re a hot, humid, sub-tropical city so when it comes to travelling that last mile from transport hub to home, e-wheeling can make it so much more comfortable.”

Plans will be made to help the proper use and parking of dockless e-bikes. Operators will also need to ensure an even spread of availability of bikes in the city centre and suburbs.

“Strong consideration will be given to safety features like helmet-lock systems and suitable deployment, maintenance, charging and parking arrangements,” Cr Murphy said.

The existing bikes will be “recycled”, a job to be done by JCDecaux whose advertising panels funded the CityCycle scheme. While docks and bikes will be removed from the streets, advertising boards will stay.

Decommissioning will begin in February 2021 with some overlap between the final shutdown of CityCycle and the introduction of dockless e-bikes.

CityCycle memberships will become free, however trips over 30 minutes will continue to be charged. The CityCycle call centre will continue to operate its standard hours.

The post Brisbane CityCycles up for swap appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Uber recently signed a deal with Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip councils which allows the bikes to operate and includes a set of ground rules that should avoid the troubles of previous bike share schemes. 

There has been much discussion about how the scheme will work following the recent closure of the Melbourne blue bikes, and the ill-fated oBikes.

Uber has learnt from the mistakes of these previous operators, and the bicycles themselves have some sensible features that should make them a hit with tourists and allow for some Melburnians to ditch their next Uber trip for a bike trip (by Uber).

How it works

To use the bikes you need to open the Uber application and switch on the home screen to view available bikes. You then use your app to scan the QR code on the handlebars to unlock the bike. Bikes can also be reserved prior to use.

It costs $1 dollar to unlock the bike, and an additional 30 cents per minute of riding, which equated to around $20 per hour. This may seem expensive on face value, but the bicycles are designed for short trips.

During peak times it may end up being cheaper to use a bike rather than sit in traffic. For our test we rented the bikes, road through the city for a few kilometres and parked it out the front of our destination, for the price of $2.70.

Once you’re finished, end your trip by locking the bicycle using the cable lock in an approved e-bike zone on the apps map. Make sure to lock up the helmet provided using the cable lock, so that the next rider can use it.

What lessons have been learnt

For starters, Jump bikes are better placed to not to be vandalised due to the accountability of the system, as it’s connected to your Uber account.

If bicycles are misused it will result in a negative rating for the person responsible across all Uber products. The threat of a negative rating will hopefully lead to bicycles being locked appropriately.

Secondly, while the bikes are dockless, they have the ability to lock the bike using the cable lock provided to a hoop or rail. This will prevent bicycles from being moved when not in use. The bikes are also really heavy, making them harder to move when not in use.

Provided users are courteous when locking the bicycles, there should be less bikes littered on footpaths (and in the river).

Cooperating councils have also enabled geo-fencing (the red in the photos above) to warn riders where they shouldn’t park bikes. This includes a 50 metre zone around the bodies of water in Melbourne, preventing late night misadventures involving bicycles and the Yarra. If users park bicycles where the shouldn’t a $15 fine will apply.

The bikes are also GPS tracked to ensure they remain within their boundaries and are monitored by the operators.

As the Jump bikes are dockless and allowed to be ridden across various councils, it is likely that they will be used more than their predecessor blue bikes.

The bikes are being managed by local bike shop Good Cycles, which will be responsible for charging the batteries and responsible for the general up-keep of the network.

How do the bikes ride

The bike rides surprising well for an electric share bike. The handling is predicable, and the bike feels very sturdy (compared to an oBike which felt like it could fold in half underneath you).

When riding you don’t notice the extra weight of the bicycle along the flats. This is due to the front hub electric motor which has a reasonable amount of pickup and engages quickly when pedalling.

You can reach the top speed of 25km/h very comfortably and should be able to cruise a reasonable speed without breaking a sweat.

The large front basket is big enough for a bag, and the bikes have a nifty phone mount which should assist in way-finding for tourists.

The 3-speed sturmey archer hub won’t win any awards, but it’s robust and shifts well. Similarly, the mechanical disc brakes have a reasonable amount of stopping power.

What to expect

As noted by other commentators, there are still a number of concerns around whether the scheme will be adopted by Melburnians.

Both Uber and the councils involved are monitoring the roll out and will likely respond to challenges as they arrive, which will hopefully help guarantee a positive experience for everyone.

Ultimately we will have to wait and see how the bicycles are received by the public.

At Bicycle Network we think that more bikes on the road is always a good idea, and if these bikes can replace less-healthy car trips, even better. The share biking scheme has grown up along way since oBikes, lets hope Melbourne has as well.

For a history of share bikes click here.

The post Our review and initial thoughts on Jump bikes appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Hundreds of JUMP dockless e-bikes will be placed on the streets in March with people able to book them through an Uber app for $1, with an additional charge of 30 cents per minute of riding.

Councils made a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Uber that outlines how the share bike scheme will run so the problems that came with oBikes, like people throwing the bikes in the Yarra River, do not repeat.

While full details of the MOU are not yet available, City of Melbourne says the e-bikes will be equipped with geo-fencing technology and digital monitoring the exact location of every bike is available.

Good Cycles will manage the JUMP bikes on behalf of Uber, including keeping them charged and serviced and moving them if need be.

Melbourne has been without public share bikes since November when the state government retired the docked blue bikes.

Uber has had intentions to operate JUMP bikes in Australia for some time and currently have them running in more than 30 cities around the world.

The bikes will land on the streets in batches. After the first 400 or so are dropped off in Melbourne next month, their usage will be monitored and more bikes released.

Helmets will be available with each bike so that people easily decide to hire one for a ride and still satisfy local laws. 

The e-bikes will give all kinds of people the opportunity to ride, including tourists and locals. City workers will also be able to use the bikes to get around town as quickly as possible, with the electric assistance helping them not get too warm and sweaty.

When the bikes become available Bicycle Network will have more information about how to book and use the bikes.

A short history of share bikes in Melbourne

• Melbourne Bike Share, the docked blue bikes sponsored by RACV, was launched in 2010
• The blue bikes didn’t get used a lot in their first few years, mostly because there were not enough docking stations which made it hard ride a blue bike to where you wanted to go.
• In 2017 another breed of share bike hit the streets. Dockless yellow oBikes could be seen everywhere for a few months, but unfortunately not where they should be. Many ended up in the Yarra River, on roofs and used as street art.
• In June 2018 oBike retreated and took their bikes away after local councils put tough rules in place for bikes that weren’t parked properly
• The Andrews Labor Government announced they were pulling the pin on Melbourne Bike Share in August 2019 and removed the docks and bikes in November that year. Bicycle Network asked for the bikes to be set up in a smaller city.

Click here to read more about share bike schemes

The post Electric share bikes to jump into Melbourne appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Uber’s distinctive red JUMP e-bikes bikes have three gears and are designed to reach speeds of up to 25km/h which is consistent with Australian laws.

The bikes also feature cable locks, smartphone docks, GPS tracking, replaceable batteries and mechanical sensors to avoid some of the issues that plagued previous bike-share schemes in Australia.

Uber’s JUMP e-bikes still require users to pedal, however once you put pressure on the pedals, the electric assistance kicks in – flattening hills and shortening distances. This also means that users are still getting the health benefits the come with riding a bike.

“We’re excited to have JUMP e-bikes joining the Uber transport ecosystem in multiple Australian and New Zealand cities in early 2020,” Uber Australia and New Zealand spokesman Lucas Groeneveld said in a statement.

Currently, JUMP bikes are available in 30 countries, including the US, France and Portugal, and are accessed through Uber’s smartphone app.

While Uber did not reveal which states would be first, Brisbane is expected to be one of the first Australian cities to see fleets of JUMP share bikes on their streets.

In December, we reported that the City of Yarra was already considering a proposal from Uber with the US-based company keen to launch in January or February of this year. Under the Yarra proposal the bikes would be managed by local organisation, Good Cycles.

Mr Groeneveld also told the Herald Sun that the bikes were heavy, harder to steal and that Uber was invested in making sure that the bikes did not litter Australian footpaths and parks.  

Bicycle Network is keen to see JUMP arrive in Australia. Share bikes can ease the load on public transport and reduce congestion on our roads and electric ones make riding viable for more people of all ages and abilities. It’s also a great way to get more people to swap out of cars and on to bikes.

Read more: Uber bikes plan to jump into Australia, 20 June 2019

The post Uber to roll out JUMP bikes in Australia appeared first on Bicycle Network.

City of Melbourne is asking for expressions of interest from electric share bike operators, while City of Yarra is considering a proposal from Jump, a company owned by Uber.

It coincides with the removal of Melbourne Bike Share docks from the streets which stopped operating on 30 November.

City of Melbourne is looking for someone to run a 12-month trial and are willing to learn from the oBike experience.

“It’s important that operators offer geo-fencing to stop the bikes being parked in certain areas along with around-the-clock remote monitoring of the bikes and where they are located,” said councillor Nic Frances-Gilley.

“E-bike share schemes operate successfully in many cities in the world. E-bikes can help people ride longer distances and get to where they’re going quicker.’’

Electric bikes could soon be hitting the streets of Melbourne. @DougalBeatty #9News pic.twitter.com/8c8A1AVIVd

— Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) December 3, 2019

Jump have already made a proposal to City of Melbourne, as well as Port Phillip and Yarra. It seems City of Melbourne is looking to see what other companies might do, while Yarra is contemplating the proposal.

Jump would like to start operating in Yarra in January or February 2020 with dockless ebikes that would be managed by local organisation Good Cycles.

While dockless, the bikes could have preferred parking locations as well as no-parking zones.

Unlike oBike, Jump are trying to get off to a happy start by asking councils for approval, however they acknowledge that there are no government laws stopping them from setting up shop regardless.

Having Melbourne’s inner-city councils on board would be good not just for the companies, but also users. Melbourne Bike Share’s biggest problem was a lack of locations – it is vital that people can ride wherever they want, not just within one municipality.

Share bikes can ease the load on public transport and reduce congestion on our roads and electric ones make riding viable for more people.

Longer trips could be made on a bike in short time and white collar workers can use them without getting too sweaty.

Jump bikes currently operate in the US and Europe. Earlier this year they publicly flagged interest in Australia.

The post A glimmer of hope for share bikes in Melbourne appeared first on Bicycle Network.

The government today announced that it will shut down the program because it only managed to attract one user per bike per day.

Anthea Hargreaves, Bicycle Network General Manager of Public Affairs, said that regional cities like Ballarat, Bendigo or Geelong would be perfect places to move the bikes to.

“The scheme was too small to work in Melbourne, but it is an ideal size for Victoria’s regional cities which are crying out for increased investment in bike riding and active transport,” said Ms Hargreaves.

“Instead of sending these good bikes to landfill we should use it as an opportunity to get more people riding and improve the health of our regions.”

“A small network of docks and bikes in Melbourne was the number one reason for the failure of the program. The key to a successful bike share scheme is accessibility, location and scale.”

A blue share bike dock on Bourke Street in the Melbourne CBD.

Melbourne’s scheme involved 600 bikes spread across 50 stations, which is small compared to Brisbane’s successful CityCycle scheme which averages 2,000 trips a day across 150 docking stations and more than 1,000 bikes.

Bike share schemes also operate successfully overseas with Paris, London and Barcelona all having well-used programs.

“We know that bike share schemes can work, we just have to get it right. As well as the right number of bikes and docks we also need high quality, connected bike lanes and infrastructure,” added Ms Hargreaves.

While the existing blue bikes should be moved, Bicycle Network is confident that share bikes will again exist in Melbourne in the future.

“Bikes are an important part of the transport mix and as Melbourne progresses, we expect a bike share scheme to operate in the future,” said Ms Hargreaves.

Greens call for the scheme to stay

Greens MP for Prahran Sam Hibbins has said that the scheme should not be canned and has called it a ‘lazy’ decision.

He said on Twitter that it was “always a half cooked scheme that needed some TLC to get it working.”

In fact it was about 6 years ago the then govt put an expanded scheme into the inner suburbs out to tender. But didn’t proceed because they demanded an unrealistic 100% cost recovery from fares and advertising. #springst

— Sam Hibbins (@Sam_Hibbins) August 29, 2019

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The latest CityCycle data revealed that on average, more than 2,000 trips are taken each day. This is an increase of 35 per cent in the past year.

Introduced in 2010, the Brisbane City Council share bike scheme CityCycle now has more than 150 stations across inner Brisbane stretching from Newstead to the West End and Toowong.

Modelled on the London scheme, each docking station is in close proximity to each other with a minimum of 10 bike racks. Another benefit is that you can ride all day for free if bikes are returned within half-hour intervals.

The scheme has cost taxpayers $27.6 million in total since its inception and generated only $14.7 million. However, profit is not seen as fundamental with the scheme viewed as a public service.  

CityCycle is one of two docked bike share schemes in Australia, with the other in Melbourne.

The key to a successful bike share scheme is accessibility, location and scale. Studies show that the presence of high quality bicycle infrastructure is considered crucial as the length of segregated bicycle paths near docking stations impact use.

Sadly, dockless share bikes haven’t had the same success in Australia. Earlier this year, oBike withdrew from Melbourne and ReddyGo left Sydney unable to overcome strict restrictions or negative public perception. This is despite reports that bike share accounted for more than 6,500 active transport trips per day across Sydney.

Brisbane City Councillor Adrian Schrinner told Fairfax that he believes that CityCycle usage has grown due to visibility and changes to membership.

“It’s now a more streamlined process [to hire a bike], you can tap and go at the machine,” Cr Schrinner said.

“CityCycle is also now more visible around the city as more people use it. That in itself drives more people to give it a go.”

See the article as it appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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Now that the big rideshare firms have added bikeshare to their fleets, the answers are starting to roll in.

If you are commuting to the office and don’t have time to waste, you likely will choose bikeshare.

But if its after hours, and you are catching up with friends over dinner, then you will likely hit the phone button for a car.

The data comes from Uber, that six months ago purchased bikeshare firm Jump, so for the first time it can track customer behaviour in the wild in places where it has both modes available.

What it clearly shows, and this is reinforced by data from Uber’s competitors that also run bikes and cars, is that commuters now know that for most commutes bikes will get them to work faster.

New Jump users were most likely to choose bikes during hours of congestion, and cars during off-peak hours.

“This validated a lot of things we thought would be true and hoped would be true,” Jump Bikes CEO Ryan Rzepecki said. “To see an increase in the overall engagement with the Uber platform was positive, and to tangibly see a mode shift happening.”

A key factor is that the Jump bikes are electric assist, that may help lure riders that are irregular cyclists.

Uber started with in ebikes in February when it first allowed users to book rides on a Jump bike through its app.

As of July 1, overall trips by new Jump riders on the Uber platform climbed 15%, even as their trips in cars and SUVs declined 10%.

The greatest shift away from cars occurred each weekday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., when traffic congestion is at its worst.

“This is having a positive impact on the things cities care about, notably congestion and reducing carbon,” said Andrew Salzberg, who leads transportation policy and research at Uber.

Uber isn’t alone in feeling that way. Mobility advocates said Uber’s findings show people will happily take two wheels instead of four if given the chance — something the company hopes will lead cities to loosen restrictions on bikeshare fleets.

Many cities strictly limit how many bicycles bikeshare operators can provide. Uber hopes those cities might ease their restrictions once they see how startups such as Jump can ease congestion and reduce pollution.

“People who are serious about moving people more efficiently and fighting congestion should be leaning into the idea of allowing modes like bikes and scooters to be prevalent,” Salzberg said.

Transportation experts said Uber’s data underscores the potential of electric bicycles to remake cities.

The post Uber bikes show cars the way appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Bosch has made the move as part of a two-pronged attack to make its workers healthier, and the air in the cities cleaner.

As a bonus it promotes its own ebike technologies to a wider market.

The initiative comes at a time when major corporations around the world are focusing on addressing the negative impacts of motorised travel.

According to the company there are about 20 million commuters in Germany, and half travel less than 10km to reach their workplace – those who drive create a massive output of emissions.

Boschʼs market study found that half of Germanyʼs population believe that ebikes are a viable alternative to cars, and one-third said they were prepared to make the transition towards use ebikes for commuting.

“With this mobility offering, we want to help improve air quality in cities as well as the health of our associates,” said Christoph Kubel, a member of the board of management and director of industrial relations at Robert Bosch GmbH.

“Cycling is good for body and mind. It also promotes creativity – because we donʼt always have our best ideas sitting at our desks, but instead while doing things like exercise. This is why bike leasing is now one component of our working culture.”

Bosch workers can lease bikes from registered retailers and the company will take care of the contractual side of things. The leasing amount will be deducted from the workers gross salary.

People who have been working more than three years with the company can lease two bikes.

The bikes can be used for private purposes as well as for commuting.

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