Lime’s fleet is primarily floating; Inviting angerUndocked ride-share electric bikes and scooters have long come under scrutiny because they inevitably crowd sidewalks and sometimes end up in rivers and streams. Lime says it’s “agnostic” on free-floating and parking, enforcing both based on city requirements. Some markets have “corrals” where riders park their scooters or bikes, and there are fines if riders don’t park in these areas. Critics say the fines for bad behavior are too harsh. Not strict enough.
Many of the parts on the new models are shared with Lime’s other products. For example, the brake levers are the same as those on Lime scooters, because the company has determined that they perform better. The batteries are the same as those on the Gen4 e-bikes, making them faster and cheaper to replace. And Lime says the bikes’ screw heads are all the same size, eliminating the need to change drill bits when making repairs. Parrish says these changes will increase the availability of these vehicles and reduce Lime’s operating costs.
This is important because many other micromobility ride-sharing companies are struggling: Bird filed for bankruptcy last year, and Lyft filed for bankruptcy last year. Check out the sale New York City Citi Bike (the city comptroller Unreliable service Shared scooters had been gaining popularity during Lyft’s tenure, especially in lower-income areas, and a ban on them dealt a blow to Lime and its competitors after a spate of injuries and deaths in Paris last year ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. The company said no other city had taken a similar step to Paris, which “further underscores that the referendum is in the past,” said Russell Murphy, Lime’s global communications director.
“Lime now has 15,000 electric bikes in Paris and the surrounding area, providing a convenient and sustainable way to get visitors to the venues,” Murphy said. “We’re proud of the support we’ve received from the city to make this happen.”
The LimeGlider and LimeBike won’t change these issues. They will still be corralled in markets that are free-floating and dockless, or require it. And throttle-powered electric bikes are still a big problem. Safer That’s especially true for kickstand-equipped electric scooters, where the throttle doesn’t work unless you kick it off. (Lime says the kickstand on the new model disables the throttle when deployed.) But at the very least, it might make these shared e-bikes more comfortable for a wider range of people.
Pilot programs have already begun in Atlanta and Zurich, where riders will have the option to reserve a LimeBike. The LimeGlider will launch in Seattle in mid-August, followed by Zurich later in the summer. If well-received in the next few months, production will begin and the car will join Lime’s global fleet in 2025.
