Lime: Self-Service Bikes Further Expanded

The company Lime, the leading player in the Paris free-floating scooter market since 2018, unveiled its roadmap for the coming months during a press conference this morning.

The confirmed ban on free-floating scooters in Paris starting September 1, 2023, has caused damage among the three scooter operators in the capital. 5,000 Lime scooters must be removed from Parisian parking spots by September 1, 2023. With a trip every six minutes, the brand has a lot to lose.

However, Lime announced this morning that it is ready to face this challenge and will redeploy its scooters on other markets where it operates. Thus, the company will not disappear completely. With 10,000 bicycles present in the capital since the beginning of 2023, Lime will enable many of you to continue moving around smoothly.

Furthermore, Lime announced that it is in negotiations with new cities in France to expand its offerings based on the mobility needs of each territory in a decarbonized manner.

250 Jobs Threatened

“Prioritizing jobs,” was Lime’s guiding principle this morning. With 250 jobs at stake, Lime announced that it does not plan to cut jobs in the short term. These jobs will simply be shifted to the “bike-sharing” sector.

To this end, Lime has already begun training its teams internally and in partnership with Generation France. This organization helps people distant from employment to access “career opportunities that change their lives and would otherwise be inaccessible to them”. The first cohort has trained 12 people in jobs related to bicycle repair, maintenance, and sales.

It must be said that Lime’s fleet of bikes has experienced success in Paris over the past three years. At the start of their arrival in 2020, Lime’s dockless bikes numbered 3,000. In 2021, the company added 2,000 bikes, followed by another 2,000 in 2022, and an additional 3,000 at the end of the year, reaching 10,000 bikes currently available in Paris.

This is why Lime aims to retain its jobs and increase its bike fleet, as demand is clearly present in the area.

How Does Lime Bicycle and Scooter Repair Work?

In the interest of sustainability, Lime has taken responsibility for repairing its bikes to minimize waste. During a visit to the warehouse, Lime explained that all parts of its vehicles are removable and potentially reusable in other scooters or bikes.

When a broken scooter or bike arrives at the warehouse via fully electric Lime vans, a “senior” mechanic will diagnose the vehicle. Then, a repair ticket is created so technicians know where the faults are. Other staff will place the “broken” part in a bin. Workers in the parts repair workshop will pick these parts from the bin. If the part can be repaired, it will be reused in bikes or scooters (depending on the part). Otherwise, sorting bins are available behind for material separation and recycling.

Moreover, in this Parisian warehouse, Lime has a workshop dedicated to repairing parts. This reflects a desire to repair and reuse resources already in the field, minimizing the purchase of new parts. Mobiwisy welcomes this initiative and hopes to see more of it in the future!

Everything is designed with sustainability and circular economy in mind. To such an extent that a scooter reaching end of life (estimated at 6 years) will have all its functional parts recovered, and the rest recycled by Lime’s partners.

And What’s Next?

Lime now plans to address the logistical and financial challenge of moving its free-floating scooters outside Paris. They also aim to eventually relocate battery production and warehouses within Europe. We do not know which cities Lime is negotiating with due to “competitive reasons”.

Nonetheless, with a presence in over 270 cities worldwide, Lime is unlikely to lack locations to deploy its electric scooters. With a deadline set for August 31, 2023, we wish them all the best!

Also read: Anti-sidewalk, we tested Lime’s innovative scooter system

Additional images from our visit: