Lyft to Undertake Bike-Sharing Venture

Not only can you hire a car and driver through Lyft, but now you can hire a bike. Last week, Lyft acquired $600 million in new funding and has announced a new angle to take on Uber, it’s rideshare competitor. The company has purchased Motivate. Motivate is a bike-share company, and it’s the oldest and largest one in the United States.

The environmentally-friendly aspect of the transportation was Lyft’s main selling point. In addition to driving people, Lyft plans to deliver products through bike-sharing.

The price that it cost Lyft to acquire the business is undisclosed, but the bike-share company was rumored to sell for around $250 million. This price estimation sounds logical, as Uber paid around $200 million for a similar bike-sharing company, Jump


The success of Lyft’s new venture is still up in the air. Bike-sharing is a promising idea, as it provides cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of transport, but such companies haven’t produced large amounts of revenue.

Despite this, many potential customers say they would rather take an electric bike than wait in heavy traffic.

Along with other bike-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft have applied for permits that would allow them to use their ride-sharing bikes in San Francisco. The companies hope to expand this new venture to other areas as well.