Introducing the Lime E‑moped
Our latest mode to help you Ride Green. Any trip. Any time. Anywhere.
We’re thrilled to announce the newest member of the Lime family: the Lime electric moped, designed to you go farther, faster.
As we expand to new vehicle types on the Lime platform, we're furthering our mission to provide a multimodal network of safe, carbon-free transport that alleviates the need for a car. The addition of e-mopeds makes Lime the first and only micromobility operator to offer riders three different vehicle types on one app. With mopeds, bikes and scooters, riders can find a shared, electric vehicle from Lime, perfectly suited to make any trip under five miles, meeting any preference or comfort level.
{% video_player "embed_player" overrideable=False, type='scriptV4', hide_playlist=True, viral_sharing=False, embed_button=False, autoplay=False, hidden_controls=False, loop=False, muted=False, full_width=False, width='1920', height='1080', player_id='40996746485', style='' %}Lime aims to launch mopeds in a handful of cities early this spring, with Washington DC and Paris our initial targets for pilot programs. As we grow our platform of electric vehicles, Lime is quickly becoming the ideal partner to support cities as they work to emerge from COVID-19. Our full-fledged transportation service helps to drastically reduce car trips under five miles, which account for nearly 60% of all car trips in the United States, United Kingdom and other large countries. By replacing car trips, Lime helps make streets safer, air cleaner and congestion disappear, leading to faster movement of people, goods and services.
“The addition of electric mopeds to our fleet of e-bikes and e-scooters is another major step in our goal of ensuring access to affordable, carbon-free shared transportation in cities around the world” said Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime. “As the first micromobility provider to offer three vehicles on one platform, we’re excited to help cities and riders get moving again with safe, sustainable, and socially-distant transportation to serve any urban journey. Lime now offers a ride for any trip, at any time, in nearly any major city in the world, furthering our mission to foster people-first cities.”
Unparalleled investment in safety
In addition to providing a suite of multi-modal options, Lime’s key differentiator will be its approach to safety. We recognize that safety must come first, especially with a heavier, faster vehicle. We’ve seen where others have fallen short and have invested heavily in our approach to safety.
We started by consulting the experts, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), an internationally-recognized developer of comprehensive, research-based rider education. We collaborated with MSF to design a multi-chapter rider safety e-course, optimized for learning retention, and a test that must be completed before anyone can begin a ride. We're also providing a practice guide with MSF-designed exercises that riders can use on their own to refine their riding skills and prepare themselves for various traffic situations. The guide provides step-by-step directions and tips on critical skills such as turning and emergency braking.
“As micromobility offerings diversify, and shift from cycling lanes onto busy city streets, MSF is stepping forward. MSF wants all Lime riders to be safe and have fun. We encourage them to take full advantage of Lime’s training offerings, and to always wear helmets and other riding gear,” said Robert Gladden, VP of training operations for MSF. “We applaud Lime’s decision to include rider education and safety training in their new electric moped program.”
And to triple down on rider education, we're planning on providing free 45-min, in-person lessons for any rider who's interested in learning. Lessons will be taught by MSF-certified instructors in small class sizes and are designed to help riders get comfortable and confident with the fundamentals of riding, such as braking, turning, and parking.
We are also focused on setting a new standard for moped sharing with our tech. From launch, we're going to deploy a first-of-its-kind technology for the industry: an infrared sensor in each helmet case to identify if a rider has removed the helmet from the case for use. We’ve heard from officials in major cities that this was a priority, so we made it our priority to develop it.
Finally, riders must be 21 or older to ride in the US, and 18 or older in Paris. To access Lime mopeds, riders must have a valid driver’s license, and take a photo of themselves to ensure it matches the driver’s license photo. Riders will be unable to access a moped if the photo does not match the driver’s license. Before beginning a ride, riders must also take a photo of themselves wearing a helmet, which must then be worn all times throughout a ride.
Lime will take strict enforcement measures for repeat safety violators, including removal from the platform to avoid putting themselves and other road users at risk.
World-class hardware
The Lime moped--manufactured by the leading shared moped manufacturer in the world, Niu--is also the first Lime vehicle to allow for two riders at a time, adding convenience for our riders and their friends or family. Lime will provide two high-visibility helmets in the carrying case of every moped, with varying sizes to meet the needs of riders, as well as to provide for a passenger. In the US, the helmets are manufactured by Moon; and in Europe, they are manufactured by Nikko, each compliant with local regulations. Lime e-mopeds have a top speed of 28 mph (45km/hr) and can travel up to 87 miles (145 km) on a single charge, far surpassing the reach of e-bike and scooter batteries.
The value of a multimodal service
The benefits of a truly multimodal service cannot be understated. Lime rider survey data shows that offering multiple vehicle types for various trip lengths and types can help to reduce the likelihood a rider would take a car, with 77% of riders reporting a reduction in their use of cars, taxis, and ride-hailing once e-bikes were added in their city to complement e-scooters. Nearly half of Lime riders report that with the addition of a second mode, they were more likely to ride a Lime vehicle, given the improved convenience and reliability. The addition of e-mopeds to the Lime app will further improve reliability and provide a new option to attract a variety of rider demographics, while serving a wider breadth of trips.
Lime’s unique multimodal offering is amplified by Lime’s exclusive integration with three of the most popular urban transportation apps globally - Uber, Google Maps and CityMapper - which allows it to reach hundreds of millions of people who might otherwise not use micromobility to complete their trip. By serving more trip types, vehicle preferences and distances, all with sustainable light electric vehicles, Lime is the ideal partner for cities aiming to reduce congestion and car use as they get moving again after a difficult past year.
We continue to take a collaborative approach with city regulators to ensure compliance with all local laws and to establish a close working relationship so concerns are addressed immediately.
We can’t wait to help you leave the car behind in 2021.