Ride-hailing giant Uber has teamed up with Brazilian micromobility operator Tembici to offer bikes and e-bikes to rent directly in the Uber app for the first time in Latin America.
Tembici’s fleet will be available to book in the Uber App first in Brazil. The service will start in the city of Recife, and expand to Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. It will then be gradually launched in other cities in Latin America.
The company also operates fleets in Santiago (Chile), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Bogota (Colombia). It plans to reach over 20,000 bikes and 10,000 e-bikes in Latin America by the end of the year.
Latin America
Micromobility has grown consistently in Latin America thanks to the increasing use of sharing schemes in the region. According to Tembici, shared bike use in the region spiked 400% in the last ten years.
“Despite this positive scenario, there are still significant infrastructure challenges in the serviced cities, as the proportion of kilometres of roads with bike lanes and/or cycle tracks is less than 6%,” said Tomas Martins, CEO of Tembici.
“The context is challenging but also very promising. We are talking about an ocean of opportunities that has been increasingly consolidated.”
Martins said the company has an “extremely positive experience” in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In each city, the company has recorded over 4,000 trips in a single day with e-bikes.
Annie Duvnjak, Global Head of Micromobility at Uber, said the partnership represents meaningful progress towards the company’s goal of becoming a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2040.
“This partnership shows the important role that car-free travel plays in Uber’s strategy to get to zero emissions by providing customers with sustainable, affordable, and convenient ways to ride,” said Duvnjak.
Tembici, which holds a BCorp status, has recently raised $32 million from Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) to expand its services.
