Latest news with #LimeGlider
The Verge
3 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Lime renews vows with Uber ahead of busy summer season
Lime, the shared scooter and bike company, is getting ready for another busy summer by cozying up to one of its biggest supporters, Uber. The two companies recently signed a new multiyear agreement that allows Uber to continue to feature Lime's shared bikes and scooters on its ridehail app. As part of the deal, Lime's rented bikes and scooters will continue to appear in Uber's app in the markets in which they overlap, including the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The previous agreement was set to expire later this year. 'We're pleased to extend this fruitful relationship into the future so riders can discover and quickly book Lime on the Uber platform,' said Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime, in a statement. 'Working with Uber has allowed us to reach even more people and provide more riders with shared, affordable, emissions-free transportation through one of the largest transportation platforms in the world. This deal further solidifies Lime as the go-to option for two-wheeled travel in cities.' Uber also recently announced that Lime would be included as part of its Uber One subscription members, offering 10 percent cash back on all Lime rides. Uber and Lime first came together during the height of the scooter boom in 2018, with the ridehail giant joining a $335 million round of financing led by Alphabet's venture arm, GV. That was the first time Lime's bikes and scooters became available for rent on Uber's app. During the covid pandemic, Uber threw a crucial lifeline to Lime, investing $170 million in the company in exchange for Lime acquiring Uber's Jump bike and scooter business. Today, Uber holds a 29 percent stake in Lime. And as the pandemic progressed, the deal positioned Lime to pull ahead of many of its struggling rivals. As other companies floundered, Lime scootered past all the mergers and bankruptcies, and now presents itself as the leading shared micromobility company in the world. Earlier this year, the company published its 2024 financial results, in which it touted a fourth consecutive year of over 30 percent growth, second consecutive year of positive free cash flow, and $810 million in gross bookings. And as the summer busy season approaches, Lime is setting its sight on new markets. The company recently launched in Barcelona, and later this year plans on expanding into Mexico. Its also continuing to scale its latest vehicles, the LimeBike and pedal-less LimeGlider, with launches in nearly a dozen cities over the past two months. Of the two new bikes, Lime says it plans to reach a fleet of more than 15,000 deployed vehicles globally in 2025. (The Glider is only available in North America, as the EU requires that throttle-only e-bikes be classified as mopeds.) Lime's bullishness on its business comes as the company recently hit a new record for daily ridership, surpassing 1 million rides in a single day on May 31st — and then again on June 1st. Lime says riders also recently exceeded 10 billion minutes using the platform, across more than 800 million individual trips since Lime's service began in 2017. Lime's decision to continue partnering with Uber comes as the ridehail company's main rival, Lyft, hikes the prices of its main bikeshare service, Citi Bike in New York. Lyft had been exploring a possible sale of Citi Bike, but now says it plans on expanding the service in the outer boroughs later this year. Uber says its deal with Lime helps get it closer to its goal to be a zero-emission platform by 2040. 'Lime has been an impactful partner in our efforts to make transportation easier, more affordable, and more sustainable,' Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said in a statement. With widespread global use through Uber in over 200 cities, this next chapter is about scaling up together—and giving riders even more ways to get where they're going without owning a car.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
New rules for scooter riders coming to Denver after unanimous city council vote
DENVER (KDVR) — New rules are on the way for how to use scooters in Denver, including new technology to try and prevent rider injuries. The Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday night to crack down on sidewalk riding and leaving scooters anywhere in the city. Denver among first cities to launch Lime's newest vehicle option: LimeGlider 'Today we take a major step forward here in Denver for public safety, accessibility and transportation innovation,' said District 10 City Councilperson Chris Hinds. Hinds co-sponsored the proposal that passed unanimously with all 12 yes votes. Scooters will soon be required to have a sidewalk detection technology, shutting them off if the rider is not in the street or a bike lane. Denver Health said that in 2024, it saw nearly 2,000 scooter-related patient encounters come into the emergency department or urgent care centers, most commonly broken bones, cuts and concussions. Hinds says their goal is to cut into that number. 'This legislation is about more than scooters and bikes, it's about saving lives, ensuring dignity for all pedestrians and setting national standards for responsible micro mobility,' said Hinds. Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said it has already started to test that detection technology, but has no results to share yet. The proposal also mandates that riders park scooters in designated zones, which DOTI has also been testing near Union Station. A quick compliance test for riders is also required before using a scooter for the first time. Search continues for missing 64-year-old man in Conejos County, last seen in April Councilperson Sarah Parady co-sponsored the proposal with Hinds and says residents hope it's only the first step in improving safety. 'I also have heard loud and clear from communities that probably the best thing we could do to improve the safety of these devices is just to continue to improve the safety of the actual streets, the bike lanes, the built-in environment,' said Parady. 'But in the absence of infinite money to do that, I think this bill will help a lot.' The new parking requirements aren't slated to go into effect until 2027, while the rest of the new rules will begin next year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
Denver gets stricter rules for scooters
New rules for scooters are coming to Denver. The big picture: The changes are meant to improve public safety and even save lives, Councilmember Chris Hinds said during a committee meeting this month when introducing the bill creating the new rules. He added that helping regulate micromobility options like scooters is key to helping limit single-occupancy vehicles. How it works: The tightened restrictions require scooters and e-bikes to have sidewalk detection technology — it's illegal to ride them on city sidewalks — and to be parked in approved zones or corrals in high-use neighborhoods, including downtown and parts of Five Points. Driving the news: Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve the new rules for e-bikes and scooters, which have already logged 1 million trips during the first quarter of the year, per council documents. Threat level: Serious crashes involving scooters are increasing, turning deadly in some cases. Scooters are sometimes dumped randomly, turning into a public nuisance and creating unnecessary obstacles for people with disabilities. Between the lines: The additional rules will make it costlier for micromobility companies to operate in Denver, Hinds said during a recent committee meeting, though he didn't specify how much more the companies will have to pay. What they're saying: Lime and Bird, which are the only scooter operators in Denver, both support the new measures, per statements from the companies. Lime last week made Denver one of a few select cities globally to launch its newest vehicle, the LimeGlider, an electric bike that doesn't require pedaling, reflecting its commitment to the city, Zach Williams, senior director of government relations at Lime, said in a statement to Axios. The bottom line: Hinds tells us he wants his bill signed into law before the city's transportation department starts its bidding process for a new micromobility contract, which could be this summer.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Denver among first cities to launch Lime's newest vehicle option: LimeGlider
DENVER (KDVR) — Denver residents will soon have a new electric vehicle option from shared transportation company Lime, alongside its fleets of e-scooters and e-bikes. The vehicle is not quite a bike, and not a scooter. It features a larger padded seat with footrests instead of pedals. The gliders also have a front basket, a step-through frame and a lower center of gravity. Why Denver is one of the biggest scooter cities in the US On Wednesday, Lime announced that Denver would be one of the first cities where the LimeGliders would be launched after a pilot program in select cities in 2024. The company said the gliders are now available in Denver alongside the e-bikes and e-scooters. The company said that 10,000 more LimeGlider and LimeBikes will be launched in 'nearly a dozen cities across Europe and North America.' Lime said interested people can be introduced to the new vehicle at the MyDenver Summer Kickoff on 16th Street on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1. The company said it will be promoting safe riding and proper parking, and will also be giving out helmets. The company said it anticipates hitting 17 million total rides on Lime vehicles in Denver in May, and said this secures Denver's place as one of Lime's top cities in the world. 'Those rides have been taken by over 2.4 million riders, traveling over 21 million miles and preventing thousands of tons of carbon emissions as well as keeping millions of car trips off the road,' the company said. 'A major part of this ridership is the Lime Access program, which provides three free rides a day to Denverites who receive city, state, or federal subsidy. Over 20,000 Lime Access riders have taken over 3 million rides in Denver, saving a total of over $25 million since the program began in 2021. Lime Access in Denver is by far the largest equity program that Lime operates in the world.' See the latest traffic conditions in Denver on FOX31 'Lime chose Denver to be one of the first cities in the world to launch this new vehicle mode because of its booming ridership and commitment by the city and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) to build the bike lanes, bike and scooter parking, and other infrastructure that foster micromobility success,' the company said in its announcement. Lime said it will be investing in new technology, staff and operational capacity 'to improve parking and street tidiness, promote safe riding, and both prevent and crack down on sidewalk riding.''Denver is already a model micromobility city in North America and it still has unlimited potential to keep improving the experience for riders and for all road users,' said Zach Williams, senior director of government relations at Lime, in the company's announcement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
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.
