Industry News •

SMART Conference Budapest: Lime Announces Participation In EU’s Cities4People

Electric scooters are enhancing the way European cities move, from Madrid and Lisbon to Vienna and, soon, Budapest.

That was the message at this year’s SMART Conference, one of the premier tech conferences in Central Europe. Lime’s Director of International Communications Paloma Castro Martinez took the stage in the Red Hall to announce that the global micromobility leader will be working with city officials to be a part of Budapest’s “Cities4People” initiative.

“This is a great program that will help us pilot Lime scooters and make sure they benefit the city and those who live here,” said Castro Martinez. “We respect and will listen to local decision makers to make sure that we do this correctly. Our aim is to be a long term partner.”

Paloma Castro Martinez Smart X Budapest Lime

The Cities4People initiative, part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, is focused on developing “sustainable and people-oriented transport as a solution to the many challenges...faced by urban and peri-urban areas.”

Home to over 1.75 million people, Budapest drivers know these challenges well. Commuters here lost an average of 162 hours stuck in road congestion in 2018 according to INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard.

It’s little wonder, then, that Budapest’s SMART Conference, celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, chose to make mobility and innovation core themes of the program. The Hungarian capital was one of five cities chosen by Cities4People to pilot the smart mobility initiative.

Lime Smart X Budapest Paloma Castro Martinez

“The benefits to cities are clear: we offer a service that doesn’t cost the city a penny; we make moving around fun and enjoyable; we bridge the gap between existing mobility options; and we therefore reduce the need for car parking,” stated Castro Martinez, referencing the impact that electric scooters are already having in just a few of Lime’s neighboring European markets.

According to Lime’s Year End Report for 2018, 57% of Lime riders in Lisbon reported commuting to or from work or school on a Lime, and nearly a quarter of riders in Paris reported using a Lime to go to or from public transit.

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