PBSC Solutions, a Longueuil company that developed the technology that drives the bike-sharing service in many cities, including Bixi in Montreal, has just been bought out by the Californian company Lyft, the giant Uber’s eternal rival in mobility on demand.
The President and CEO of PBSC Solutions, Luc Sabbatini, said in a letter sent to PBSC partners that he was delighted with the transaction for three reasons: common values, recognized expertise in multimodal mobility and above all in bike-sharing as well as complementarity in the product and service offering of the two companies.
“The entire leadership team, including myself, will remain in place and continue our mission alongside our colleagues at Lyft, and I look forward with the entire PBSC One Team to being part of this bright future” , concludes Luc Sabbatini in his message.
“Building a better way to serve cities and the people who move through them with the best on-demand bike and scooter systems has been part of our vision for a long time,” said the Director of Transportation, Bike and Scooter Operations in a press release. at Lyft, David Foster. “Our acquisition of PBSC Solutions will enable us over the next decade to provide world-class products and experiences to residents of the world’s largest cities. »
Present in 45 cities in 15 countries, PBSC Solutions’ 95,000 shared bicycles are unique in that they must be returned after use to one of the approximately 7,500 terminals also designed by the Longueuil company. This model differs a bit from other shared bike and scooter services that let users park the device wherever they want once they arrive at their destination.
Open door in Quebec
PBSC Solutions recently added electric bicycles to its range of self-service bicycles, a solution considered more practical for getting around cities where distances are sometimes long and neighborhoods not always flat.
Like Uber, Lyft offers various means of transport – including bicycles, electric scooters and even chauffeured cars. The service founded in California in 2012 has a presence in one form or another in Ontario.
Lyft’s acquisition of PBSC Solutions’ technology could pave the way for the arrival of the service in Quebec. The company has indicated in 2021 its intention to establish a presence in Montreal and Quebec City, among others, during this year.
In Montreal, where plans were confirmed earlier this year to reauthorize self-service electric scooter services next year, Lyft could roll out its entire catalog of products and services.
Lyft and PBSC Solutions had not yet responded to questions from the To have to at the time these lines were written.