I walk on the trail around Brookhaven College in the early morning. Parked very neatly beside the trail is a Lime scooter, the only one for miles around. I wonder how long it will be before someone uses it? I can understand in an urban downtown or a large college campus that is having regular classes, there should be many users just waiting to take a short trip on a scooter. But here on a walking trail where there are mostly bicyclists and people walking their dogs, I’m not sure there’s much need for it. Granted, there might be older people who are too tired to walk the entire path. However, I am not sure those people could figure out how to get the Lime app on their phone or even balance themselves on a scooter. That’s probably why I’m not an entrepreneur. Obviously, the people who started Lime have figured out a business model that works.
History
LimeBike was founded in January 2017 by Brad Bao and Toby Sun, both of whom were executives of Fosun International's venture capital arm. It raised $12 million in venture funding led by Andreessen Horowitz in March 2017. The company's first location, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, launched in June 2017 with 125 bicycles.
The company expanded in July 2017 to the cities of Key Biscayne, Florida; South Bend, Indiana and South Lake Tahoe, California. On July 27, 2017, it launched with 500 bicycles in Seattle, Washington, becoming the city's second bikeshare operator.
The company closed a Series B round of venture funding in October 2017, announcing that it was valued at $225 million. A $335 million funding round in 2018 led to a valuation of $1.1 billion for the company, making it a unicorn or a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion. As of October 2017, Lime had 150,000 users.
In November 2017, LimeBike announced NFL running back Marshawn Lynch as one of its brand promoters, partnering with his company Beast Mode Apparel.
In January 2018 Lime announced at CES 2018 that they would begin a trial of electric bikes, branded Lime-E, in San Francisco. CES 2018 is annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association. Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, the event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry. In February 2018 Lime-S electric scooters were announced.
In May 2018, the company announced that it would rebrand as "Lime" and partner with Segway to produce new scooters.
In May 2018, the company announced plans to begin development of transit pods, small self-driving electric vehicles. 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."
In August 2018, the company signed a deal with Uber to provide them with electric bikes for the expansion of their Uber Bikes service.
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.
In May 2019, co-founder and chief executive officer Toby Sun stepped down reportedly to focus on research & development while Brad Bao, a Lime co-founder, took his place as CEO. According to Kate Clark’s May 23, 2019 article “Lime’s founding CEO steps down as his co-founder takes control” in Tech Crunch, Bao, given his Tencent Holdings Ltd. tenure, seems like a natural choice to lead Lime into a more mature phase of business. Sun — a former investment director at Fosun Kinzon Capital — has less operational experience than his counterpart, who was most recently the vice president of the Chinese conglomerate’s gaming division.
In September 2019, Lime was recognized as one of the LinkedIn Top Startups for 2019. It was the first time Lime was listed, and it was ranked at No. 12 among the list of 50 startups.
In October 2019, Lime announced it is predicting to lose about $300 million in 2019. In January 2020, Lime laid off about 100 employees — or approximately 14% of its workforce — and ended its scooter rental service in a dozen markets, including Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego and San Antonio. Further layoffs in April were blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic, with the CEO saying, "We had to pause operations in 99% of our markets worldwide to support cities’ efforts at social distancing." Due to reduced demand for electric scooters during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Lime had to suspend service in nearly two dozen countries.
In April 2020, Lime is reported to have acquired assets of electric skateboard startup Boosted.
Lime acquired the Jump e-bike and scooter business from Uber in May 2020, along with a $170 million funding round led by Uber, with Bain Capital Ventures and GV participating. The deal valued Lime at $510 million, down 79% from its $2.4 billion valuation in April 2019. At the same time, Brad Bao stepped down as CEO, replaced by Wayne Ting.
Usage
The user installs the Lime app on a device, typically a smartphone, on which are displayed all the vehicles available — tracked by GPS — nearby. Before starting a trip, the user supplies payment information. The user then scans the QR code on the vehicle, beginning the trip. To end the trip, the user parks the vehicle then ends the ride through the app. The price of the trip is immediately withdrawn from the user's credit card. Lime requires every user to take a picture of the parked vehicle and its surroundings, to review whether the vehicle was parked improperly. If any problems were encountered with the trip, like a malfunctioning vehicle, the user can report it through the app.
On the Lime app, the user can see the operating area of the service. Riding outside of the operating area is tolerated, but if users leave the vehicle outside the operating area, they will be charged a fee. The fee changes based on the location. On the map, there are various red zones, in which users are prohibited to park. If riders misbehave, they will incur a fine.
While Lime doesn't have set operating hours, the availability of electric vehicles — scooters and e-bikes — during nighttime is severely reduced due to their need to be recharged every night. Normal pedal bikes are available 24/7. If users find scooters/e-bikes outside during the nighttime, they can still unlock them. Lime operates every day of the week.
Lime's pricing typically starts at €1 or $1 to unlock an electric scooter or electric bike, plus a variable rate per minute depending on location. Normal pedal bikes typically cost €1 or $1 for a 30-minute ride.
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.
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.
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.
n 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 letter.
Scooters were initially banned in Milwaukee when Bird Rides Inc. started their scooter business without permission. Wisconsin's Governor Tony Evers signed a bill July 11, 2019 regulating scooters. Shortly after the governor's decision July 23, 2019, Lime began operating in Milwaukee in a pilot program, until the city again halted scooter rentals because of complaints about riders riding on sidewalks. Lime wanted to increase its fleet of 500 scooters in the Milwaukee area, but they were denied permission.
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."
In November 2018, Lime issued a recall of its Okai-model scooters on reports that the baseboards could "break in half." The recall was issued following internal comments by employees that its scooters were unsafe for public use.
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.
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.
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