SANTA MONICA—Uber recently launched its new electric scooters in the city of Santa Monica. Uber purchased JUMP which is a bike-sharing program that utilizes electric bikes. In September 2017, Uber launched the program in Washington D.C. and in January 2018, the company launched the program in San Francisco.
The city of Santa Monica recently approved JUMP to take part in the city’s Shared Mobility Pilot Program. The 16-month program intends to expand on Santa Monica’s goal of being a sustainable, multi-modal city. The program began on September 17, 2018 and was created to give members of the community and visitors, eco-friendly options to get around town. As of right now, Santa Monica has approved a total of five companies for the program.
“Providing more low-emission mobility options can create a more diverse, convenient, and accessible transportation network that would reduce emissions and congestion, and improve the quality of life in the city. However, like with all new technologies, shared mobility devices can also pose significant challenges with regard to appropriately managing the public-right-of-way (PROW), encouraging public safety, and adapting old regulations to new business types,” states the city of Santa Monica.
Santa Monica was given 250 electric scooters to use throughout the city. The electric scooters can be reserved up to an hour in advance through the Uber app and it only cost $1 to unlock a scooter. After the first five minutes of using the scooter, it will cost 15 cents per minute. There are specific areas to park the scooters and failure to do so will result in a $25 fine.
