Lyft to Buy Motivate, One of America's Largest Bike Share Providers

Motivate operates Ford Gobike in the Bay Area, Citi Bike in New York and Divvy in Chicago among other bike share fleets.

1 minute read

June 4, 2018, 5:00 AM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Citi Bike Rack

Joe Mazzola / flickr

Lyft is attempting to buy bike share operator, Motivate, for a quarter billion dollars in a deal that is still being finalized as of this writing. The potential deal, first reported by The Information, further consolidates the American mobility market. Lyft's competitor, Uber, already owns electric bike startup, Jump, and a handful of scooter share companies. If the deal goes through, the two ride hailing giants will each have their own pieces of the bike share pie.

Motivate, formerly Alta Bicycle Share, may not be well known, but it operates well-known bike shares in Chicago, New York, the Bay Area and other markets. "Beyond Ford GoBike and Citi Bike, other Motivate-operated bike brands include Capital BikeShare, CoGo, Divvy, Blue Bikes and Biketown," Sean Hollister reports in CNET.

Friday, June 1, 2018 in CNET

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 25, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19, 2025 - Outdoor Life

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?

Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up of full beer glass with purple train-themed design sitting on bar between two frosty tall cans.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?

TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

7 hours ago - Cities Today

Vintage red Toronto streetcar passing in front of Rogers Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events

Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

June 30 - blogTO

Map of Berlin with ring roads in green and red.

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan

The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.

June 30 - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.