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Neutron Holdings, Inc., doing business under the name Lime, formerly LimeBike, is a transportation company based in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. It runs
electric scooters Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery which drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a ...
, electric bikes and electric mopeds in various cities around the world. The system offers dockless vehicles that users find and unlock via a smartphone app that knows the location of available vehicles via GPS.


History

LimeBike was founded in January 2017 by Brad Bao and Toby Sun, both of whom were executives of
Fosun International Fosun International Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company. Founded in 1992 by Guo Guangchang and four others, the company is headquartered in Shanghai and was incorporated in Hong Kong in 2004. Its Co-CEOs are Chen Q ...
's venture capital arm. It raised US$12 million in venture funding led by
Andreessen Horowitz Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z, legal name AH Capital Management, LLC) is a private American venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Andreessen H ...
in March 2017. The company's first location,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand- ...
, launched in June 2017 with 125 bicycles. LimeBike expanded in July 2017 to the cities of
Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is an island town in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 12,344 at the 2010 census. Key Biscayne lies south of Miami Beach and east of Miami. The village is connected to Miami via the Rickenbacker Causeway, originall ...
,
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
, and South Lake Tahoe, California. On July 27, 2017, LimeBike launched with 500 bicycles in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, 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 The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
. , Lime had 150,000 users. In January 2018, Lime announced at
CES 2018 CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event t ...
that they would begin a trial of electric bikes, branded Lime-E, in San Francisco. The following month Lime-S electric scooters were announced. There was criticism in April 2018 when Lime left several hundred scooters on the streets of US cities without the permission of municipal authorities. Public criticism increased in June when it emerged that the scooters were programmed to play a recording of the message "Unlock me to ride me, or I'll call the police" repeatedly, at high volume, when their controls were touched. In May 2018, the company announced plans to begin development of transit pods, small self-driving electric vehicles. Lime applied for
car-sharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
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 Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), packa ...
to provide them with electric bikes for the expansion of their ''Uber Bikes'' service. In September 2018, a 24-year-old man in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
in United States died in a single vehicle Lime scooter accident. The responding police officer found a Lime electric scooter broken in half about 500 feet from where the victim was found unresponsive. 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 A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
Toby Sun stepped down reportedly to focus on R&D while Brad Bao, a Lime co-founder, took his place as CEO. In September 2019, Lime was recognized as one of the LinkedIn's Top Startups for 2019. This was the first time Lime has been listed, and it was ranked at No. 12 amongst the list of 50 startups. In January 2020, Lime laid off about 100 employees, approximately 14 percent of its workforce, and ended its scooter rental service in a dozen markets, including
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
and
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
. Further layoffs in April were attributed to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, with the CEO saying, "We had to pause operations in 99% of our markets worldwide to support cities’ efforts at social distancing." Starting in March 2020, due to reduced demand for electric scooters during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Lime suspended services 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 Bain Capital Ventures LLC is the venture capital division within Bain Capital, which has approximately $160 billion of assets under management worldwide. The firm's early-stage investments have included Attentive, Bloomreach, Clari, Docusign, Fl ...
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. In November 2020, Lime reported the first profitable quarter and predicted 2021 full-year profitability. In April 2021, Lime is listed as one of the 2021 Time100 Most Influential Companies by
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
. In November 2021, Lime closed an oversubscribed funding round raising $523 million and announced an intention to take the company public in 2022. The company also announced in 2021 that riders had surpassed 250 million rides using Lime services, making it the largest shared micromobility operator globally in terms of total trips.


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 A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about th ...
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 payment method, unless using a pre-loaded Ride Pass. Lime requires users 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.


Locations

As of March 2022, Lime operated in more than 150 cities across more than 30 countries. As part of trials approved by the UK Department for Transport, Lime began operating e-scooters in the UK - where the use of e-scooters outside of trials remains illegal in public - from mid-2020. Lime trial areas in the UK currently include Greater Manchester and Milton Keynes. A trial in London, operated by Dott, Lime and TIER Mobility commenced in June 2021.


Vehicles

Lime, depending on location, uses three different types of vehicles.


Lime-S

Four different electric scooter models are currently in use: * Lime-S Ninebot ES4, made by
Segway The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transp ...
with extra battery attached on to the Main Pole. * Lime-S Generation 2 * Lime-S Generation 3, designed in-house by Lime. *Lime-S Generation 4, designed in-house by Lime.


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 The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transp ...
Ninebot scooters after 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 February 2019, Lime issued a safety update, announcing that some of its scooters could malfunction and their wheels could "lock up". The company was forced to temporarily withdraw its scooters from circulation in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
and
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, after injuries caused by irregular braking incidents. According to '' Consumer Reports,'' affected Lime scooters had buggy faulty firmware.


User collaborations

In some locations, Lime scooters are charged by 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 "LimeHubs" 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 a city. Lime also operates some cities exclusively with its own staff.


Conflicts with local authorities


Fort Lauderdale, USA

In February 2019, a
Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
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.


Australia

In June 2020, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission found that Lime covered up at least 50 incidents on its scooters that resulted in injuries such as broken bones and damaged teeth.


San Francisco, USA

In September 2018, Lime sued
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
for denying Lime a permit. Lime had been operating in San Francisco without permission and received a cease-and-desist letter.


Milwaukee, USA

Scooters were initially banned in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
when Bird Rides Inc. started their scooter business without permission. Wisconsin's Governor
Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 ...
signed a bill July 11, 2019 regulating scooters. Shortly after the Governor's decision, 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 were denied permission.


Cease-and-desist letters

Lime has received cease-and-desist letters from numerous cities across the US, including Reno and Indianapolis.


References


External links

* {{Scooter sharing systems Bicycle sharing companies Scooter sharing companies American companies established in 2017 Transport companies established in 2017 2017 establishments in California Companies based in San Mateo, California Uber