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Lime (transportation company)

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Neutron Holdings, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry Bicycle-sharing
FoundedJanuary  2017 (2017-01)
FoundersToby Sun
Brad Bao
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Websitewww.li.me

Neutron Holdings, Inc. doing business under the name Lime, formerly LimeBike, is a transportation-rental company based in the United States. It runs bicycle-, scooter-, and car-sharing systems in various cities around the world. The systems offer dockless vehicles which users find and unlock via a mobile app which knows the location of available units via GPS and radio. Lime's charges typically start at $1 or €1 for a 30-minute ride on unpowered bicycles, while electric bicycles and scooters cost $1 to unlock plus a variable rate per minute depending on location.

History

LimeBike was founded in January 2017 and raised US$12 million in venture funding led by Andreessen Horowitz in March 2017.[1] The company's first location, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, launched in June 2017 with 125 bicycles.[2]

LimeBike expanded in July 2017 to the cities of Key Biscayne, Florida, South Bend, Indiana, and South Lake Tahoe, California.[3][4][5] On July 27, 2017, LimeBike launched with 500 bicycles in Seattle, Washington, becoming the city's second bikeshare operator.[6]

The company closed a Series B round of venture funding in October 2017, announcing that it was valued at $225 million.[7] A $335 million funding round in 2018 led to a valuation of $1.1 billion for the company, making it a unicorn.[8]

In November 2017, LimeBike announced NFL running back Marshawn Lynch as one of its brand promoters, partnering with his company Beast Mode Apparel.[9]

In May 2018, the company announced that it would rebrand as "Lime" and partner with Segway to produce new scooters.[10]

In August 2018, the company signed a deal with Uber to provide them electric bikes for the expansion of their Uber Bikes service.[11]

In May 2019, co-founder and chief executive officer Toby Sun stepped down reportedly to focus on R&D while Brad Bao, a Lime co-founder, took his place as CEO.[12]

Vehicles and deployment

Lime-S electric scooter in Little Italy, San Diego, California, USA (Sept 2018)
A van used to collect and move scooters at night, in Emeryville, California.

Lime uses green-colored commuter bikes equipped with GPS units and 3G connectivity.[1][13] The bicycles also have a front basket, a solar panel, and a smart lock. A mobile app is used to locate nearby bicycles and scan a QR code to unlock bicycles, which play a short chime.[1][14] Rides cost $1 for every 30 minutes of use.[1]

As of October 2017, Lime had 150,000 users.[15]

In January 2018 Lime announced at CES 2018 that they would begin a trial of electric bikes, branded Lime-E, in San Francisco.[16] The following month Lime-S electric scooters were announced.[17]

In May 2018, the company announced plans to begin development of transit pods, small self-driving electric vehicles.[18] Lime applied for car-sharing permits in Seattle in October 2018 and later launched a service in December 2018 with a fleet of Fiat 500 Lounge cars branded as "LimePod."[19][20]

In October 2018 Lime announced the release of a new model e-scooter with larger wheels, built-in suspension and an aluminum frame to combat vandalism and extend vehicle life.[21]

Juicers

Lime scooters are charged by gig workers, private contractors who sign up to become "Juicers"; the company sends approved Juicers charging equipment, and pays them to charge scooters overnight then place them at designated "groves" throughout the company's service area in the morning. Juicing can become competitive, with Juicers in some markets using vans and other creative means to pick up scooters all over the city.[22]

The amount of money that Lime gives the independent contractors for charging a particular scooter depends on how long the scooter has been sitting out on the street after being flagged for needing a charge and before the Juicer reflags the scooter in an app to claim the reward.

Controversy

Conflicts with local authorities

Lime has been criticized for its approach towards municipalities, including ignoring local laws. In February 2019, a Fort Lauderdale Lime user was placed in a vegetative state after a violent collision with a car while riding a Lime scooter on the road, not the legally permitted sidewalk use. The injured woman was allegedly instructed to use the road by Lime's app.[23] In September 2018, Lime sued San Francisco for denying Lime a permit. Lime had been operating in San Francisco without permission and received a cease-and-desist. [24][25] Lime has received cease-and-desist letters from numerous cities, including Reno,[26] San Francisco[27], Indianapolis[28], and others.

Allegations of mudslinging PR

In November 2018, TechCrunch reported that Lime had engaged Definers Public Affairs, a public relations firm known for spreading "anti-semitic conspiracy theories" about George Soros[29], to send "mudslinging pitches" for Lime about its competitors. [30]

Vehicle malfunctions

Some of Lime's electric scooters have been recalled due to mechanical failures. In October 2018, Lime recalled a number of its Segway Ninebot scooters after several cases of batteries "smoldering, or in some cases, catching fire".[31]

In November 2018, Lime issued a recall of its Okai-model scooters on reports that the baseboards could "break in half".[32] The recall was issued following internal comments by employees that its scooters were unsafe for public use.[33]

In January 2019, Lime withdrew its scooters from two Swiss locations (Basel and Zürich) following accidents allegedly caused by brakes automatically activating when the scooters were still in motion.[34]

In February 2019, Lime issued a safety update, announcing that some of its scooters could malfunction and their wheels could "lock up" at high speeds. The company was forced to temporarily withdraw its scooters from circulation in Auckland and Dunedin, New Zealand, after injuries caused by irregular braking incidents.[35][36]

Locations

Lime-E electric bicycle in Berlin

Locations where Lime operates are listed on its Web site, which is updated as appropriate:[37]

United States

Lime also operates on the following US college campuses:[37]

Outside United States

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Czech Republic

Denmark

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Israel

Italy

Mexico

New Zealand

Lime launched in Auckland and Christchurch in October 2018.[73]

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Scooters with motors, and similar vehicles may not be used either on public roads or footpaths in Britain, although a change to the law was being considered in 2019.[89] Motors to assist a pedal-driven bicycle are permitted, and Lime-E bicycles were introduced in 2018.

Uruguay

Notes

  1. ^ Malden,[39] and with Spin: Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Brookline, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Needham, Newton, Quincy, Revere, Waltham, Watertown, and Winthrop.[40] Dockless bikes are excluded from the Hubway operating area.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kolodny, Lora (March 15, 2017). "LimeBike raises $12 million to roll out bike sharing without kiosks in the US". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. ^ Newsom, John (June 1, 2017). "Green machines: New bike share program gets its start at UNCG". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. ^ Diaz, Johnny (July 24, 2017). "What are those bright green bikes in Key Biscayne? It's LimeBike, new bike sharing program". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  4. ^ Parrott, Jeff (July 7, 2017). "Bike-sharing company LimeBike is coming to South Bend". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  5. ^ "New bike ride share program to start in South Lake Tahoe Saturday". South Tahoe Now. July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  6. ^ Soper, Taylor (July 27, 2017). "There are now 1,000 bike-share bicycles in Seattle as LimeBike officially launches service". GeekWire. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  7. ^ Carson, Biz (October 16, 2017). "LimeBike Now Valued At $225 Million After Investors Go All In On Bike-Sharing Craze". Forbes. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  8. ^ Robinson, Melia (July 10, 2018). "Uber, Google and top VCs just poured $335 million into scooter startup Lime — here's why one investor thinks it's the future of commuting". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ Baldassari, Erin (November 20, 2017). "Oakland Raiders' Marshawn Lynch throws his weight behind LimeBike with sponsorship deal". Mercury News. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  10. ^ "Lime Rebrands and Announces a Partnership with Segway" (Press release). Lime. May 17, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018 – via PR Newswire.
  11. ^ Bond, Shannon (2018-08-26). "Uber gears up for shift to bikes on short trips, CEO expects short-term financial hit". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  12. ^ "Lime's founding CEO steps down as his co-founder takes control". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  13. ^ Gutman, David (July 17, 2017). "Bike shares wheeling back into Seattle, but they're unlike Pronto in 2 big ways". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  14. ^ Machkovech, Sam (July 23, 2017). "Dockless bike sharing lands in Seattle—and leads us down unsavory alleyways". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  15. ^ Carson, Biz (September 15, 2017). "With New Fundraising, 9-Month-Old Bike-Sharing Startup Is Said To Be Worth $200 Million". Forbes. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  16. ^ Rose Dickey, Megan (8 January 2018). "LimeBike unveils pedal assist e-bikes". TechCrunch. Oath Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  17. ^ Dickey, Megan (February 12, 2018). "Lime bike is also getting into the E-Scooter game". TechCrunch.
  18. ^ Brustein Bloomberg, Joshua (11 May 2018). "Scooter company Lime is planning to deploy 'transit pods'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Lime applies for car-sharing service in Seattle". Puget Sound Business Journal. October 29, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  20. ^ Soper, Taylor (November 29, 2018). "We tested Lime's new car-sharing service, LimePod, that will take on BMW and Daimler in Seattle". GeekWire. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  21. ^ Toll, Micah (19 October 2018). "Lime unveils new electric scooter, fuels the e-scooter arms race". electrek. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  22. ^ Heffernan, Erin (November 6, 2018). "Inside the scooter side hustle: Charging for Lime and Bird is a new cutthroat gig in St. Louis". Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  23. ^ Holley, Peter. "A Lime scooter accident left Ashanti Jordan in a vegetative state. Now her mother is suing on her behalf". The Washington Post.
  24. ^ Thomas, Eric. "Lime files appeal; wants scooters back on San Francisco streets". ABC 7 News.
  25. ^ Keeling, Brock. "Lime appeals San Francisco's scooter permit exclusion". Curbed.
  26. ^ Higdon, Mike. "Reno's Lime Scooters gone for now; this isn't the company's first time being shut out". Reno Gazette Journal.
  27. ^ Bhattacharjee, Riya. "'Public Nuisance:' San Francisco Issues Cease and Desist Letter for 'Unlawful' Electric Scooters". NBC Bay Area.
  28. ^ "Lime operation manager reacts to cease-and-desist order from city". Wish TV.
  29. ^ Lomas, Natasha. "Read the mud-slinging pitches Facebook's PR firm sent us". TechCrunch.
  30. ^ Lomas, Natasha. "Read the mud-slinging pitches Facebook's PR firm sent us". TechCrunch.
  31. ^ Deahl, Dani (October 31, 2018). "Lime removes some Segway Ninebot scooters from fleet amid concerns of battery fires". The Verge.
  32. ^ Liptak, Andrew (November 11, 2018). "Lime issues recall for a scooter model after reports that they can break apart". The Verge.
  33. ^ Holley, Peter. "Lime issues global recall of one of its electric scooter models amid fears that it can break apart in use". Washington Post.
  34. ^ "Lime e-scooters pulled from Zurich and Basel after accidents". The Local. 9 January 2019.
  35. ^ Roy, Eleanor Ainge (21 February 2019). "Auckland threatens to eject Lime scooters after wheels lock at high speed". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  36. ^ "Lime scooters suspended temporarily due to safety issues". The New Zealand Herald. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  37. ^ a b c d e "Locations". Lime. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  38. ^ "Bike Share - Transportation". City of Bellevue. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  39. ^ "Malden Debuts Ofo and LimeBike - Dockless Bike Sharing Programs" (Press release). City of Malden. October 24, 2017.
  40. ^ Vaccaro, Adam (April 13, 2018). "Thousands of dockless bikes headed for Boston's suburbs". Boston Globe.
  41. ^ Repko, Melissa (August 4, 2017). "Is Dallas shifting gears? LimeBike, Spin join Big D's bike-share market". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  42. ^ "Bike Share". City of Green Bay.
  43. ^ Bowen, Patty. "Bike share company deploys e-scooters in Meridian". IdahoPress.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  44. ^ Muscavage, Nick (April 20, 2018). "Plainfield to launch bike share program". mycentraljersey.
  45. ^ Guerrero, Isaac. "LimeBike rolls into Rockford on Saturday".
  46. ^ Cormier, Gregory (7 April 2018). "500 LimeBikes to hit stateline streets Saturday morning". mystateline.com.
  47. ^ Melo, Frederick (September 19, 2018). "Lime rolls out 'dockless' bikes in St. Paul, complementing its scooters, and competing with Bird scooters". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  48. ^ "Walnut Creek latest to share in the bike-share movement". East Bay Times. 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  49. ^ "Los monopatines eléctricos llegan a Buenos Aires". La Nacion (in Spanish). 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  50. ^ "Lime-E electric share bikes have landed in Sydney". Techly. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  51. ^ "Brisbane to trial Lime shareable electric scooters". The Australia. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  52. ^ "E-Scooter trial comes to Adelaide during festival season". 9News. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
  53. ^ https://indaily.com.au/news/2019/04/11/revealed-lime-e-scooters-squeezed-out/
  54. ^ Lanxon, Nate (2018-09-26). "Scooter-Rental Startup Lime Is Expanding in Israel, Vienna". Bloomberg (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  55. ^ Weikle, Brandie (2 October 2018). "Lime e-scooters opens first Canadian location with pilot in Waterloo, Ont". CBC News. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  56. ^ Carolyn Said (11 December 2018). "The quick, cheap future of transportation: Lime scoots around the globe". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  57. ^ "Miliardový startup Lime míří do Česka se sdílenými elektrickými koloběžkami". CzechCrunch (in Czech). Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  58. ^ Ritzau (5 October 2018). "Up to 200 Electric Scooters to Appear on Streets of Copenhagen". The Local.
  59. ^ De Clercq, Geert (June 21, 2018). "Lime launches electric scooters in Paris, targets Europe". Reuters. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  60. ^ a b Corot, Léna (2018-10-08). "Lime étend discrètement son service de trottinettes électriques en France". L'Usine Digitale (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  61. ^ Bosredon, Mickaël (2018-10-31). "Bordeaux: Lime arrête son service de trottinettes électriques en libre-service". 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  62. ^ Doumergue, Cyril (2018-10-20). "Mobilité : ce qui attend les Toulousains". La Dépêche (in French). Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  63. ^ Colin, Beatrice (2018-10-23). "Toulouse: Faux départ et gros couac pour l'arrivée des trottinettes électriques en ville". 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  64. ^ Auchard, Eric (December 11, 2017). "LimeBike expands to Europe as cycle-sharing rivalry mounts". CNBC. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  65. ^ Knoblach, Jochen (21 August 2018). "Neuer Fortbewegungstrend Elektro-Tretroller sollen auch bald in Berlin unterwegs sein". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  66. ^ "US-Firma startet Fahrradverleih in Bremen". Radio Bremen. March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  67. ^ Jendrischik, Martin (June 24, 2018). "Bike-Sharing: Swapfiets, WK-Bike, Lime kämpfen um Bremen". Cleanthinking.de. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  68. ^ https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/artikel/e-roller-in-berlin-koeln-hamburg-lime-circ-starten-mit-warnhinweisen-a-1273628.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  69. ^ Skiadas, Konstantinos (2019-01-21). "Τα ηλεκτρικά πατίνια της Lime και στην Αθήνα" [The electric scooters of Lime and in Athens] (in Greek). Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  70. ^ "Budapest utcáin is elerhető lesz a Lime elektromos roller" [Lime electric scooters are available in Budapest] (in Hungarian). 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  71. ^ Raz-Chaimovich, Michal (2019-02-06). "First Lime e-scooters deployed in Tel Aviv".
  72. ^ Cahun, Antonio (2018-10-05). "Lime es otra compañía de scooters eléctricos compartidos que pronto comenzaría operaciones en México". Xataka (in Spanish). Mexico. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  73. ^ "Lime scooters launch in New Zealand's two largest cities". Stuff.co.nz. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2019. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  74. ^ a b Hayward, Michael (12 October 2018). "Lime scooters to hit the streets of Christchurch and Auckland". Stuff. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  75. ^ Miller, Tim (10 January 2019). "Lime time here for Dunedin". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  76. ^ "Lime scooters arrive in the Hutt Valley". Hutt at Heart. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  77. ^ Barycki, Piotr (October 18, 2018). "Elektryczne hulajnogi opanowały centrum Wrocławia. Sprawdziliśmy, jak z nich skorzystać". Spider's Web (in Polish). Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  78. ^ Godziński, Bartosz (2018-11-02). "Rowery miejskie są tańsze, ale nie dają tyle frajdy. Przejechałem się elektro-hulajnogą na minuty". natemat.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-11-04.
  79. ^ "Hulajnogi elektryczne w Poznaniu - Aktualności - Info - Poznan.pl". www.poznan.pl (in Polish). 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  80. ^ "Trotinetes elétricas da Lime já estão em Lisboa!" (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  81. ^ "Trotinetes elétricas da Lime chegam a Coimbra em Março" (in Portuguese). Coimbra. 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  82. ^ "Serviciul Lime de inchiriat trotinete este disponibil in Bucuresti". Arena IT (in Romanian). 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  83. ^ "Lime llega a España: así es el servicio de patinetes eléctricos compartidos de Uber y Google" [Lime comes to Spain: this is the shared electric scooter service of Uber and Google]. El Economista (in Spanish). June 21, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  84. ^ "Los patinetes eléctricos de alquiler de Lime ya circulan por Zaragoza" [The Lime rental electric scooters are already circulating in Zaragoza]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). October 10, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  85. ^ Zafra, Ignacio (2018-09-04). "Valencia exige a la empresa Lime que retire sus 200 patinetes eléctricos o lo hará la policía" [Valencia requires Lime to remove its 200 electric scooters, otherwise the police will do it]. El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
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  87. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (December 11, 2017). "LimeBike, the cycle-sharing startup, expands to Europe as it hits 1M rides in the US". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  88. ^ Angebot, Neues (2018-10-09). "Nun sollen E-Trottinetts die Basler mobil machen". 20 Minuten (in German). Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  89. ^ James Tapper (9 March 2019). "Coming to a street near you? UK's e-scooter road ban set to end". The Observer.
  90. ^ Rebecca Morley (10 December 2018). "Lime arrives in Brent and Ealing". BikeBiz. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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