As Atlanta officials hamper down on how to tackle the micromobility boom, Uber announced Tuesday that its JUMP e-bikes are leaving the city.
“We are winding down our current JUMP e-bike operations in Atlanta," an Uber spokeswoman said. "We will continue to offer JUMP scooters and look forward to continuing conversations with city leaders on how we can work together to expand transportation options."
According to Uber, all bikes will officially be out of the city by Friday, Sept. 13. JUMP scooters will stay in Atlanta, and users will still be able to book JUMP and Lime scooters through the Uber app.
The news comes shortly following the nighttime ban on e-bikes and e-scooters in Atlanta, a reaction from city hall after the deaths of four citizens on e-scooters in recent months. Uber is the second company to announce an exit from the Atlanta micromobility market; in August, Gotcha announced it had pulled its 100 scooters off Atlanta streets after entering the market in June, citing too much competition. Last year, Ofo, a Chinese dockless bike company, left the city after only a few months, however, that was in correlation to the company's decision to exit the U.S. market entirely.
Uber did not state whether the recent scooter deaths or the city’s nighttime ban and evaluation of dockless vehicles had anything to do with the exit. Atlanta currently has permits for 12K dockless vehicles in the city.
City officials imposed a nighttime ban on e-scooters and other dockless vehicles on Aug. 9. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms directed the Department of City Planning to implement a daily citywide No Ride Zone from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. for electric scooters and e-bikes, according to a news release. Users cannot rent a permitted device—which includes companies such as Bird, Lime, Jump, Lyft, Spin, Bolt and more—during these times.
“It is evident that immediate action is necessary to keep Atlanta’s residents and visitors safe,” Bottoms said in a statement. “Sadly, we have seen a pattern in the recent and tragic fatalities involving scooters – they all occurred after sunset. Having a variety of mobility options is critical to any city, but safety must be our top priority. This nighttime ban, while we continue to develop further long-term measures, will ensure the safest street conditions for scooter riders, motorists, cyclists, those in wheelchairs and pedestrians.”
All current e-scooter and e-bike companies operating in the city were notified of the ban. The Department of City Planning requested that they disable devices during the No Ride Zone.
Spokespersons from Uber, Bird, Lime, Spin and Bolt Mobility said they all stood behind the Mayor's decision to put safety first and reevaluate the number of permits allowed in the city, as well as the future of dockless in the city limits.
While the ban is in place, the city reports it is pushing “an accelerated plan for changes to our streets creating safer, dedicated spaces for cyclists and scooter riders,” as well as a revised selection process that will limit the number of dockless vendors in the city. That selection process is anticipated to be completed by February 2020.
“As a major city, we believe there is potential in engineering the smart integration of this popular mode of transportation,” Department of City Planning Commissioner Tim Keane said in a statement. “The devices go a long way in providing last-mile connectivity and convenience to residents, students, businesses and visitors. But it is vital that we pause and assess how we move forward in a responsible way, with public safety always being the top priority.”
Bottoms issued an executive order late last month prohibiting the issuance of new permits while the city’s elected leaders worked to develop a policy for addressing the growing fleets of e-scooters on Atlanta streets. It appears this is the council’s solution to buy time and stall more scooters from entering the city before local leaders can figure out how to safely regulate them.
Many experts and citizens have said the choice to ban e-scooters is a misguided one. Bicyclists and pedestrian deaths have increased by 53% in the metro area between 2006 and 2015.
After wrapping up a study in Austin, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found e-scooter users don’t wear helmets, they drive to fast and “they don’t know what they’re doing.” Between Sept. 5 and Nov. 30, 2018, the CDC documented nearly 200 injuries.
Overall, the study found 271 total injuries, but researchers confirmed only 192 injuries, two of which were to people who weren’t riding. About a third of riders who were reported injured were riding a rented scooter for the first time. Injuries reported included bone fractures, lacerations and abrasions. About half injured riders sustained some injury to their heads or were severely injured, but only one injured rider reports they were wearing a helmet.
