In January 2017, three men with a passion for environmentally friendly transportation pursued an idea that led to the founding of their company, Lime. Toby Sun, Brad Bao, and Adam Zhang created Lime, a company that runs bicycle and scooter sharing systems in cities around the world. These systems utilize dockless vehicles in conjunction with a mobile app to unlock the vehicles, where users can pay about one dollar for a 30-minute ride on a Lime bike, or $1 to unlock an electric scooter and 15 cents per half hour.
Their first location launched in June of 2017 in the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. They began with 125 bikes and found immediate success, which inspired their expansion to Florida, Indiana, and California the following month. Their scooters and bikes are lime green and each is equipped with 3G connectivity and GPS units. The bicycles include a front basket, a smart lock, and a solar panel. The three founders of this company highly valued the principles of environmentally friendly transportation, and aspired to share these values with others. Their website states, “Lime is founded on the simple idea that all communities deserve access to smart, affordable mobility”; it is inspiring to hear of entrepreneurs who are highly interested in benefiting the future of the planet and those who live on it.
Currently, Lime Scooter and Bike Sharing Network for Cities is located in over 100 cities around the world. In addition, the company has recently reached an astounding 13 million customer rides, with that number continually increasing. I am looking forward to following the future growth and success of this company!
This is super awesome! I can see why the company was successful in a city like Greensboro. I think it is important to know they were wise in their decision to start in an area like that. It makes me think they will continue to make smart business decisions. Hopefully this company can help reduce the amount of bikes locked up to unorganized bike racks in cities where space is limited.
My brother often rides his bike to work in Philadelphia and has said when he parks it outside, people steal the tires, or lights attached to it, since it is locked up and they can’t steal the whole bike. This is a great idea for people who work and live in the cities and may not want the liability of owning the bike! It’s also a great way to stay active–bike somewhere instead of driving!
This seems like a great idea for those who work in the city, but their pricing model doesn’t seem sustainable. If they charge $1 + $0.15 per half hour that’s only $1.15 per use. The depreciation from usage on the scooter or bike would surpass the revenue from the rental. There seems like there could be other problems like damage, theft, or weather-effects as well. Might need a pivot.