Uber partnering with city of Santa Cruz on e-bike commuting program

Uber announced Tuesday that it is partnering with the city of Santa Cruz on a program that will let the city subsidize JUMP e-bike trips to and from the central business district.

The city will give downtown employees promo codes so qualifying residents can apply to get a $2 discount on up to 60 trips. To get a code, riders need to create a RideAmigos account through a link given by the city. After creating an account, riders can get a code from JUMP by showing proof of employment in the central business district.

“Since starting our partnership with JUMP, Santa Cruz riders have taken over 500,000 trips, riding over 1 million miles. We’re ecstatic to offer our downtown workforce more to choose car-free ways of moving around our community,” said Claire Fliesler, the transportation planner and bike share program manager for the city of Santa Cruz.

The city will spend $40,000 on more than 650 codes, and it is expected that residents will exhaust the supply of codes before the end of the year. JUMP and the city hope that by encouraging residents to use e-bikes, it will reduce congestion by reducing the number of cars on the road.

JUMP has also installed three new charging stations in the city. The new stations are at the Santa Cruz Metro Station, Soquel and Cayuga and the Wharf Roundabout. Those will allow for as many as 48 e-bikes to be charged at a time.

“We’ve already seen that JUMP has had a measurable impact on mode shift in San Francisco, helping riders replace car trips with bike rides, and we’re excited to partner with the city of Santa Cruz to try to drive a similar impact,” said Eddie Chen, the JUMP general manager for Northern California.