Indeed, felicidades! Lyft has made another addition to its catalog of acquisitions, as it has unveiled certain plans to invest in the Serveo bikeshare business, based in Spain, and the acquisition is to happen, yes, this year.
Who says that ridesharing should be constricted to cars? Of course, not! Bikes are more than welcome in the world of ridesharing. Serveo, or Serveo Bikeshare, is the name of the public bikesharing network in Spain. These networks – which comprise large-scale systems like the Bicing in Barcelona and Bilbaobizi in Bilbao – feature thousands of both traditional and electric bicycles for urban commuting. In countries like Netherlands and Korea, bikesharing and bike renting are very famous.
Serveo also operates big bikeshare systems in Bilbao, Valladolid, and Zaragoza in the western European country. Furthermore, Serveo lso provides the contract management and local support for Madrid, La Coruña, and Rivas-Vaciamadrid’s systems.
So, this deal between Serveo and Lyft, it is expected that the micromobility operator’s (as Serveo is also a micromobility company) presence not merely across Spain, but across the Atlantic region, will deepen.
“Lyft Urban Solutions has built the operational depth and technology platform behind some of the largest bike share systems in the world,” stated Michael Brous, Head of Lyft Urban Solutions. “For years, we’ve seen Serveo build something really impressive: world-class bike share programs that Spanish cities depend on every day, including Bicing in Barcelona – one of Europe’s biggest and most-used programs. Now we will get to unite those two strengths together, offering city partners something more than the sum of our parts.”
Right at this very moment, Lyft and its Urban Solutions feature six incredible bikeshare systems in North America, which include Citi Bike in New York City, the biggest bikesharing system in the North American continent. Its operator is also a micromobility division of Lyft, supplying technology and hardware to 55 systems across 14 countries, some of which are in Europe.
The companies are only waiting for the deal to get closed. If this happens, and it will surely do, it will be the first-time that Lyft Urban Solutions would operate bikesharing in the Atlantic and western Europe, or trans-Atlantic, while taking this relationship to a different level.
It is interesting to note that some passengers looking forward to this are questioning the possible disruption of service, since it is certain this will come into fruition. Well, the companies assured that no disruption will happen as the partnership means that Lyft’s technologies are going to play a big role. And, Lyft has proven itself many times on this.
“The Serveo team brings proven scale and expertise to this next chapter – more than 22,000 shared bicycles managed across seven Spanish cities powered by effort, commitment, and professionalism,” stated Salvador Urquía, the CEO of Serveo. “We’re proud of what we’ve built and the team is excited to begin this brand-new phase united with a leading partner in the sector.”
However, the value of the deal was not disclosed. For more ridesharing and food delivery news, keep it locked right here on RSF. ‘Til then!