Lime’s new adaptive vehicle fleet options are now available to persons with disabilities via the Lime app and website, at no cost, and will be delivered to their front doors by Lime operations staff

We’re thrilled to announce Lime Able, a new program to make micromobility more accessible to persons with disabilities. Launching for the first time in San Francisco, the Lime Able will offer two new vehicles specifically designed to serve people with varying abilities and needs.

Lime’s focus on serving and supporting the disabled community in San Francisco and cities around the world stems from an idea core to the company’s mission, that if micromobility is ever going to transform urban transportation, it must be accessible to everyone.

Through Lime Able, we’re introducing two new electric scooter form factors, including a three-wheeled sit-down scooter for persons who have trouble standing; and a three-wheeled stand-up scooter for persons who may have trouble balancing on a two-wheeled scooter. The vehicles are designed for riders who are either not comfortable or are unable to utilize traditional Lime e-scooters, or require storage capacity to carry vital medical equipment (i.e. a cane, braces, or oxygen equipment).

Lime riders with disabilities can now reserve an adaptive vehicle to suit their specific needs via the Lime app or our website. The vehicles will be dropped off and picked up at the rider’s door by Lime staff and can be used for up to 24 hours at no cost.

“We’re thrilled to launch Lime Able so that everyone has access to safe, affordable and sustainable transportation options, regardless of physical ability,” said Sam Sadle, Head of Government Relations for the Americas and APAC/ANZ at Lime. “Providing inclusive services is core to our mission at Lime and this means innovating with our hardware to expand access to more users, ensuring our operations are mindful of the needs of the disabled community and that our scooters are safely out of the way on sidewalks.”

The launch of Lime Able is the latest step Lime has taken to work with and serve the disabled community in the Bay Area. In 2019, Lime launched the shared micromobility industry’s first-ever adaptive scooter in Oakland, for users unable to stand on a traditional Lime scooter.

Lime has long been deliberate in supporting persons with disabilities in cities around the world. This includes working with disability rights organizations in US cities to train our operations staff on ADA compliance, attaching braille stickers to our vehicles for vision-impaired persons to report mis-parked scooters and lending our vehicles to Guide Dogs for the Blind to help train seeing-eye dogs identify and become comfortable with this new form of transportation.

A significant number of Lime riders have identified themselves as having a permanent or temporary disability. Past Lime rider surveys, drawing over 18,000 responses in over 80 global cities, found:

• Approximately 8% of Lime riders have a disability, either temporary or permanent
• 25% of disabled riders are 40 years or older
• 39% of disabled riders commute to or from work or school

Lime will explore bringing these options to additional cities and has recently proposed an even more ambitious Lime Able program in New York City, with input from the city’s leading disability rights advocates. The program would launch an additional four vehicles to account for an even wider range of abilities.