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Jun 8, 2018 - Technology

Scoop: Uber may try to buy bike-share company Motivate

Kia Kokalitcheva

CitiBikes parked at a station in Manhattan. Photo: Epics/Getty Images

Uber is considering a takeover offer for Motivate, the bike-share company behind such programs as CitiBike in New York and Ford GoBike in San Francisco, Axios has learned. This comes on the heels of a report that Lyft has made its own bid for Motivate, valued at $250 million of more.

Bottom line: Ride-hail companies are seeking to expand their urban offerings, whether that be via bikes, flying taxis or scooters.

  • Uber recently acquired Jump, which has an exclusive permit for San Francisco's dockless bike-share program.
  • Motivate operates "docked" programs in eight U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago, Columbus (Ohio), Jersey City, New York, Portland (OR), San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
  • It reports 3.18 million total rides taken in May 2018.
  • Brooklyn-based Motivate has raised nearly $50 million from firms like Generation Investment Management, according to PitchBook.

An Uber spokesman declined comment.

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