Whilst electric scooters are still largely out of the question in London for the foreseeable future, there’s a new way to get around town: Uber’s electric JUMP bikes.

Similar to the bright green Lime bikes that arrived last year, the red JUMP bikes feature an electric pedal-assist of up to 15mph so you can cycle to work without breaking a sweat.

The bikes have adjustable seats, as well as a basket for your belongings and a phone mount so you can display your route easily.

A total of 350 bikes will be on the streets of Islington from today as part of the first JUMP bike pilot in the UK. Each bike is GPS tracked so you can find its location on the Uber app, and they also have built-in cable locks so you can easily park it at the end of the ride.

Speaking about the launch, Christian Freese, General Manager of JUMP, EMEA said: “We’re excited to bring JUMP bikes to Islington, our first launch in London. With our electric bikes, we hope to encourage more people to try an environmentally friendly way to get across the city.

“Our JUMP bikes have been designed with safety in mind, with a sturdy frame and a bright red colour that makes them visible to other road users. The app explains the features of the bike before your first trip so you can ride confidently. We encourage everyone to think about wearing a helmet, follow all traffic laws and break early and gradually.”

To ride a bike, you need to pay £1 to unlock it. The first five minutes are free and then you will be charged £0.12 per minute to your Uber account.

Ruth Cadbury MP, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling said: "I am pleased to see the arrival of JUMP bikes as an active travel option in the UK. People in London will benefit from being able to use a dockless electric bike to get around, and I look forward to these bikes being introduced into other cities. Getting more people out of cars and onto two wheels brings huge benefits to cities and their residents."

Electric bikes are increasingly becoming more popular with cyclists in the city and shared schemes like JUMP and Lime allow people to try out the service without having to commit to buying one themselves.

Lime, in particular, has been very popular since it arrived in London earlier this year. The company recently struck up a partnership with Govia Thameslink Railway in order to offer e-bike hotspots at key Thameslink stations across Greater London. There are now 1,000 Lime bikes positioned throughout the city.

For Uber, offering the JUMP bikes is another tool in its transport arsenal. It acquired JUMP back in 2018, for a (rumoured) figure close to $200 million, as part of its plans to become the ultimate urban mobility platform.

A few weeks ago Uber revealed it was adding public transport options to the app in order to “help reduce private car ownership and air pollution” in the capital.

Update: Uber has since expanded the JUMP bikes so there are now 500 bikes in north London, across Islington and a new location, Camden. The company says "thousands" of people made trips on the bikes in the first week alone, whilst there was a 20 per cent increase in rides during the heatwave in July.