The Merger of Bike Sharing Leaders Motivate and 8D Technologies
Feb 9, Motivate a full-service bicycle sharing service and platform provider that operates over 50% of the bicycle sharing fleet in North America, announced its merger with industry-leading bicycle sharing technological solutions provider 8D Technologies. The merger will enable Motivate to deliver best-in-class bicycle sharing systems and accelerate future innovation in urban mobility.
Motivate manages and operates many of the largest bicycle sharing systems in North America , including Citi Bike (New York), Ford GoBike (San Francisco Bay area), Hubway (Boston metro area) and Capital Bikeshare (Washington DC metro area).
8D Technologies provides bicycle sharing software and hardware solutions such as bike key dispenser, bike locking mechanism, Bike docks and highly efficient power management systems. 8D Technologies power close to 40,000 bikes in hardware and software including Santander Cycle Hire (London, UK), Bixi (Montreal, Canada), ADCB Bikeshare (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and Melbourne Bike Share (Melbourne, Australia).
“Bringing Motivate and 8D together will accelerate bike share innovation and bolster our ability to revolutionize the landscape of cities,” said Jay Walder, President and CEO of Motivate and the combined companies. “Jean-Sébastien and Isabelle Bettez are innovators and pioneers who saw how this technology could be applied to bike share to transform how we move in cities. They have been incredible partners and together I know we can take bike share to the next level.”
“This merger is a testament to 8D’s reputation as an innovative, forward-looking organization that delivers solar-based technological solutions,” said Isabelle Bettez, Co-Founder of 8D. “We are excited to pursue our international expansion from Montreal and to go forward as an even stronger global player with Motivate.”
The merger was facilitated by a substantial investment in Motivate by Generation Investment Management, a firm with a focus on long-term investments in sustainable businesses. David Blood, Senior Partner at Generation, will join Motivate’s board.
“Generation’s investment is a recognition that bicycle sharing has quickly become vital urban infrastructure and has the potential to be a real weapon in the fight against climate change,” said President and CEO of Motivate and the combined companies Jay Walder.
By merging with 8D, Motivate will be able to streamline supply chain management, production and operations for its client cities starting with Ford GoBike’s expansion of 7,000 bikes. Ultimately, this will help Motivate serve more cities and get more people involved with this sustainable and healthy mode of transportation.
SOURCE Motivate
