Uber launches new electric scooter rental service in Madrid

The ride-hailing company Uber has launched a new electric scooter renting service in Madrid called Jump. This is the first time Jump has been available in a European city.

It costs €1 to unlock a Jump scooter and €0.12 for every minute it is in use

Jump has a total of 566 electric scooters in the Spanish capital, which have been distributed in the neighborhoods of Centro, Arganzuela, Retiro, Salamanca, Chamartín, Tetuán, Chamberí, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Moncloa-Aravaca, La Latina, Carabanchel, Usera, Puente de Vallecas, Moratalaz, Ciudad Lineal, Hortaleza and San Blas-Canillejas.

To rent a Jump scooter, users need to either download the Uber application and register with a username and password, or update their existing application. The “Scooter” option is located in the drop-down menu in the top part of the home page, and shows where the closest available scooters can be found. Users can choose to unlock and rent a scooter, or reserve one for later.

It costs €1 to unlock a scooter and €0.12 for every minute it is in use. During the first month, users will not be charged for the first 10 minutes.

Licenses

In February, Madrid City Hall granted licenses for 8,600 shared electric scooters to 18 of the 25 companies which requested them. Local authorities had received applications for more than 110,000 electric scooters. As well as Uber, Madrid City Hall granted licenses to Eskay, Voi, Taxify, Scoot, Koko, Ufo, Rideconga, Flash, Mobike, Ari, Tier, Alma, Lime, Motit4u, Wind and SJV Consulting.

Jump users will receive information on municipal regulations and safety precautions to ensure the electric scooters are used safely. The service asks users to wear a helmet, indicate direction changes, park correctly and not to ride on sidewalks.

Electric scooters and other urban mobility devices are banned from riding on sidewalks, in bus lanes, on streets with more than one lane going in each direction and on the M-30, the motorway which circles the center of Madrid. They are allowed to ride in bicycle lanes and paths, on inner city roads where the maximum speed is 30 kilometers an hour, respecting that pedestrians have the right of way, and in streets in which the maximum speed is 30 kilometers or less.

English version by Asia London Palomba.