By David Spielfogel, Chief Policy Officer

Cities around the world are demanding more space for micromobility -- bikes, scooters and other open-air, single-occupancy vehicles that allow for social distancing and connect people with the places they need to go. This new reality, while brought about under trying circumstances, has the exciting potential to fundamentally change cities for the better.

Today’s news -- that we’ve acquired JUMP’s business operations and secured additional financing to accelerate investments in hardware and technology -- will help Lime be an even stronger partner to cities and offer more reliable service for riders. This is critical as COVID-19 changes how people get around.

While Lime will gradually take over JUMP’s bike and scooter operations and integrate them into the Lime app, our commitment to the cities and riders we serve will deepen:

• • A Reliable Service. Having provided more than 130 million rides around the globe over the last three years, we have built the most durable micromobility company in the world. We’ve learned from our mistakes, we’ve deepened our local knowledge, and we’ve innovated based on real-world feedback from more than 15 million riders and 120 city governments. Today’s investment of additional financing validates Lime’s approach of operational excellence and relentless focus on building a service that cities and riders can count on. This financial strength will allow us to continue to innovate and invest in hardware and technology, and to be a long-term partner for our riders and cities.

• • A Safe and Responsible Partner. We are doubling-down on our commitment to ensuring our vehicles are safe, environmentally sustainable, and that our riders park and ride vehicles respectfully. With more and more cities -- including Austin, Baltimore, Budapest, San Francisco and Tel Aviv -- designating shared scooters and bikes as an “essential service,” Lime is also doing our part during this public health crisis to provide critical transport support for those who need it most; we’ve already enabled nearly 100,000 rides since relaunching our U.S. and European service in mid-April.

• • Scooters + Bikes. Since our founding, Lime has embraced vehicle options for our riders -- in line with our vision for a sustainable, multi-modal future that doesn’t rely on cars for every trip. Over the past two years, Lime has helped make scooters the most popular new form of transportation in decades, and we’ve become the world's largest micromobility operator as a result. JUMP, meanwhile, has built a bike service that cities and riders love. Our users around the world tell us that they value both seated and standing micromobility vehicles for different types of trips, and going forward we’ll offer scooters, bikes, as well as new vehicle types currently under development.

Not only do these steps increase our reliability for riders, they also mean we can continue working with cities to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, promote affordable transportation options, and support last-mile access to public transportation. We’re excited to deepen these commitments and be a critical part of the transportation ecosystem going forward.