Technology

Uber chooses Santiago as the first city in South America for launching its electrical bikes

Despite micromobility issues in the region, the ride-hailing giant chose Chile to offer its service called "Jump"

Jump, electrical bike service from Uber
Photo: Uber Newsroom

While micromobility seems to be giving headaches to a few players in Latin America; Uber is advancing at full steam in the sector, offering new mobility options for the region. São Paulo has finally received Uber’s electric scooters as LABS reported this past week; and Santiago, in Chile, was the first city in South America chosen by the ride-hailing company to start offering its electrical bikes–a product called Jump.

According to Uber, Santiago is the first city in South America and the 32nd in the world where its micromobility service is available. Although Jump is in operation only in the Las Condes area of Santiago since mid-February, it is expected that later it will be able to reach other neighborhoods of the capital and the country.

“I think our unique advantage is the fact that we are part of Uber, we are part of a platform. We are not simply a player who remains alone in the sector of micromobility. This represents a big difference, because we are talking about a new modality that people are not used to and in that sense, Uber has a large existing user base, of more than two million, who have a favorable opinion and feeling towards Uber, they know that the company is committed to safety, quality and trust,” said Ruddy Wang, Regional General Manager for Jump Latin America, to the media outlet AE Tecno.

Jump, e-bike rental service, on Uber’s app. Media: La Tercera / Reproduction

With a fleet of 1,200 bikes, and costing 150 CLP ($0,19) per minute, Jump enables users to rent the vehicles from 5:00 am to 00:30 am. Like the other services, users just have to open the Uber app (the option is in the lower area between car trips and Uber Eats), book or rent the bike via GPS and activate the service through a QR code.

Asked if Jump is planning an expansion to other countries in the region, the executive confirmed. “I believe that the goal for me is to reach all Latin American countries and offer the service to as many people as possible. I would say that the priority right now is to offer the highest quality and safety of our services in the areas where we are operating today, which are Mexico City, Santos in Brazil and the Las Condes area in Santiago. That is our priority now, and we want to reach the entire continent but in terms of where we are putting our focus and attention, we are trying to make our operations in the places I mention safe for all customers.”

EBANX LABS
Get the best insights about Latin America market in your inbox