08-05-2025
LimeGliders debut in Seattle with 3,000 scooters
Seattle is the first city to launch LimeGliders — scooters that look like bikes — following a popular pilot run last year.
Why it matters: Seattle's early embrace of micromobility and zeal for two-wheeled travel make it one of Lime's top global markets, company officials say.
That boom is shaping the future of shared electric transit, as Lime uses the city to grow ridership and test new ideas, Hayden Harvey, Lime's director of government relations, told Axios.
Between the lines: Seattle's not just a high-performing market — it's a real-world proving ground.
With steep hills, rain, heat, cold, leaves and even cobblestones, the city challenges every aspect of a new model's design, Harvey said.
Driving the news: Starting Thursday, the company is deploying up to 3,000 of the seated scooters alongside its fleet of 4,000 e-bikes and 7,000 standup scooters.
What they're saying:"We're excited that Lime is rolling out this new option so that more people can select a device that works best for their needs," Seattle Department of Transportation interim director Adiam Emery said in a written statement.
Zoom in: The all-green LimeGlider offers a more accessible ride than the company's scooters and e-bikes — with a lower center of gravity, a lower step-through, and no need to push off, pedal or adjust a seat.
That makes it an easier choice for a wider range of riders, including novices and people with mobility concerns, Harvey said.
Thought bubble: I took all three of Lime's options for a spin this week, and the Glider was by far the least intimidating.
It's the only one I would be able to get my octogenarian mother to try.
By the numbers: Seattle now ranks as Lime's No. 4 city globally for ridership, trailing only London, Paris and Berlin.
6 million Lime rides were taken in Seattle last year, per Lime, with 2 million so far in 2025, up 113% from the same period in 2024.
Yes, but: Injuries involving electric scooters and bikes were up 37% last year over 2023, KING 5 reported.
Lime acknowledges that its riders are vulnerable road users, like pedestrians, compared with cars, Harvey said.
But shared scooters have "considerably stronger safety records" than private scooters, Lime said in an email Wednesday.
Harvey said that the rate of incidents or injuries across Lime's service in Seattle declined 21% from 2023 to 2024 and that more than 99% of the city's 6 million trips ended without incident.
