Why Did This Happen?
A colleague recently asked for advice on buying an e-bike. I recommended a few brands, but she quickly discovered that delivery times were months out. Eventually, she found one available in six weeks - which counted as fast. Across North America, pandemic-related demand has created a severe shortage of bikes and e-bikes.
At the same time, a video circulating on Twitter shows Uber destroying around 20,000 Jump e-bikes. This came shortly after Uber exited the bike-share space and sold Jump to Lime, the scooter company.
Journalist Aaron Gordon of Vice looked into the situation. Lime clarified they weren’t behind the destruction.
“As part of the JUMP acquisition, we took possession of tens of thousands of e-bikes - including the spare parts and tools to fix them - and have already begun to deploy them,” a Lime spokesperson told Motherboard. “We have not recycled any of the JUMP e-bikes in our fleet and are committed to scaling and operating them during this critical time.”
According to Uber, the bikes being scrapped were outdated models that remained with them post-sale. The company stated it considered donating them but ultimately opted for recycling due to concerns over maintenance, safety, liability, and the absence of compatible consumer charging infrastructure.
Bike Share Experts Dispute Uber’s Explanation
At the Bike Share Museum - an organization deeply familiar with the inner workings of e-bike models - the official story doesn’t hold up. According to them, the bikes being destroyed are not outdated models. In fact, they’re the current version: the 5.5.
“The current 5.5 is the one being scrapped by the containerload,” the Museum wrote. As of May 27, between 18 and 30 trailers full of Jump bikes had reportedly been delivered to Foss Recycling in North Carolina. Citing Vice journalist Aaron Gordon’s research, they noted that the scrapping contract isn’t with Uber or Lime directly, but with Blue Sky Trading, a battery recycling company.
Lime, for its part, is said to be receiving a limited number of 5.5 bikes along with the newer 5.8 prototypes. The 5.8 model is still in beta and plagued with technical issues. It features an ultra-integrated design with firmware embedded into nearly every component - even the taillight needs to communicate with the bike’s onboard systems in order to function. This highly sophisticated system was developed entirely in-house by Jump’s engineering team - who, according to the Museum, were all laid off by Uber.
The situation, they argue, is less about practicality and more about wiping out Jump. “It’s about destroying every bike they can, and slowly taking Lime down in the process,” says Kurt from the Bike Share Museum.
He doesn’t hold back in his criticism: “We also can’t emphasize enough how disgusting it is for Uber to scrap 20,000 bicycles in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, when bikes have become a means of survival. As heavy as they are, these could still serve as essential transportation for people struggling during COVID-19.”
Jon Orcutt of Bike New York echoed the frustration, asking, “Even if no city government can repurpose the Jump fleet into a new or used e-bike share system, why not at least strip the decals and sell the bikes to individuals?” He added that Jump bikes are known for their durability and solid design - making their destruction even more baffling.
I can vouch for that - when I was in Paris last year, I had a chance to try out the 5.5 Jump model. Unlike many bikes used in bike-share programs, these were sturdy, well-built, and thoughtfully designed.
The built-in locking system on the Jump 5.5 was genuinely impressive - it showed real thought and innovation. I was struck by how well the entire bike was engineered. But it seems Uber, a company that’s mastered the art of burning through investor cash and leaving others in the dust, didn’t pause for even a moment to consider a smarter, more sustainable, or potentially even profitable alternative - like donating or selling the bikes.
When Uber acquired Jump, I actually saw it as a promising move: a tech giant backing a small, innovative San Francisco startup. At the time, I even quoted Uber’s then-new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi:
“Our ultimate goal is one we share with cities around the world: making it easier to live without owning a personal car. Achieving that goal ultimately means improving urban life by reducing congestion, pollution and the need for parking spaces.”
It sounded noble, forward-thinking - even admirable. And yet, here we are - watching thousands of these thoughtfully designed bikes get loaded into shredders.
It’s hard to make sense of Uber’s actions - first buying Jump, then offloading it, and now shredding thousands of its bikes. It seems like a remarkably costly way to eliminate a viable, eco-friendly alternative to hailing an Uber car. Some speculate that Lime is gearing up to roll out its own line of e-bikes and that this was all part of a broader strategy to eliminate competition. If that’s the case, it’s ironic, considering Lime’s bikes don’t exactly inspire confidence - they pale in comparison to the solid design of the Jump models.
Maybe someday we’ll get the full story - why Uber really scrapped the bikes, and what role Lime played in the process. After all, they were acquiring a bike-share company, and you’d think the bikes would be the main asset. All I know is, it’s a staggering waste of well-built machines, and it gives me one more reason to be deeply disappointed in Uber.