JUMP Bikes Doubling Their Fleet In Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Get ready to see a lot more red in Sacramento as JUMP bikes get ready to double their fleet.
Jump Bike launched in Sacramento in May of 2018. The company's research with Steer Group a global transportation agency indicated that in less than six months after it's launching, the bike trips have been surpassing trips by Uber. A testament to the use of e-bikes as a viable alternative to getting people out of cars.
Under a new permit issued with the city of Sacramento, on June 18th Jump will be expanding their fleet of bikes and scooters from 620 up to 1,170 vehicles and expect to add 250 vehicles to the fleet every quarter. The Sacramento city manager has the discretion to cap the growth at any time and the cities planning manager says they negotiated guidelines to the company essentially doubling its fleet in Sacramento.
The city is making sure citizens won't feel the growing pains and say so far, it has been going well. There's been plenty of complaints about JUMP bikes and scooters, and as the city looks forward to expanding the service, they say safety will be a top priority as the on-demand service grows in popularity.
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"We do require that 20% of their devices serve our opportunity areas or more lower-income areas so those are the areas that Jump decided to serve," said Jennifer Donlon Wyant, the Sacramento Transportation Planning Manager.
In Sacramento, JUMP currently services 28 square miles, the expansion will include areas north of the river from Del Paso Boulevard and down south to Florin Road, covering 51-square miles.
The on-demand bike and scooter service is owned by Uber, who said in a statement, "Sacramento has become a model city for bike and scooter share, and we look forward to serving even more riders here as we expand our fleet and service area."
It's good news for Robert Valenzuela, who runs Uptown Fitness.
"It just means the availability of more people to get to this area and be able to access businesses," Valenzuela said.
But for some, more bikes and scooters could lead to more problems.
"With downtown, you see Jump Bikes and Scooters literally everywhere and I think that would be a problem here people just leave it across the street," Turuva said.
The city plans to jump on enforcement.
"The $15 citation for the devices that are left blocking the sidewalk we will give that to the company. The company can then choose to pass the fee to the user," Donlon Wyant said.
The city said it is not aware of any serious pedestrian accidents with JUMP bikes or scooters.
Sacramento is considered an open market. Any company that wants to operate can submit an application.
Lime Bikes will also be coming to the city next month.