Lime announced today that it has launched a major fleet swap in Portland, rolling out its industry leading Gen4 e-scooter in waves with the goal of completing the upgrade within weeks. As gas prices have risen and remained high this year, Portland residents and visitors have taken more and more rides on Lime vehicles and the local lime team is anticipating continued growth in increasing as the newer models hit the streets. Also this month Lime riders hit the two million total rides milestone, demonstrating the popularity of shared electric vehicles in Portland. This fleet swap and the two million rides milestone together demonstrate Lime’s commitment to the city of Portland and the bright future Lime riders have on these new industry leading vehicles.
“We are so proud that Portland residents and visitors have chosen to ride green and ride safe on our carbon-free vehicles over two million times,” said Karla Owunwanne, Senior Director of Government Relations at Lime. “The popularity of micromobility in this city and our plans to be here for the long haul made it a priority to ensure that we brought our absolute best hardware here. These brand new e-scooters will offer a smoother and more sustainable rider experience and they’ll decrease street clutter and promote safety. They’ll also attract more residents and tourists to hop on an e-scooter and ride green as gas prices rise and remain high. It’s a win-win for riders and the entire city together.”
The Gen4 e-scooters will provide riders with the smoothest and most environmentally friendly shared scooter ride available, and they will be equipped with lock-to technology that will allow riders to lock the vehicles to bike racks and other designated infrastructure. This will decrease street clutter and promote safety, improving the micromobility experience for everyone in the city including non-riders and other pedestrians. The other major technological advancement is the swappable, interchangeable battery, which significantly enhances the efficiency and sustainability of our operations, while improving vehicle availability for riders. Swappable batteries mark a huge step for the broader shared micromobility industry and Lime is leading the way right here in Portland.
Since Lime launched in Portland in July 2018, over 400,000 Lime riders have taken over two million trips on Lime vehicles. Lime riders have traveled over 2.3 million miles, keeping almost 500,000 car trips off the road, and saving nearly 200 metric tons of carbon emissions as well as nearly 25,000 gallons of gas.
Lime Access
In addition to safety and sustainability, Lime is proud to build its service in Portland on a foundation of equity. Lime has not only brought its global equity program Lime Access to Portland, but has also specially designed a tailor made program to fit the city’s unique needs by offering up to five free rides a day for all residents who qualify on top of Lime automatically discounting 50% of all rides that start in East Portland. Almost 900 Lime Access riders have taken nearly 50,000 trips, representing an estimated $110,000 in savings for people most in need as gas prices remain stubbornly high.
Hardware
The goal of the Gen4 scooter is to provide the smoothest and most sustainable Lime scooter ride in our history. Highlights of the new vehicle model include:
- Swept back handlebars, a first for shared e-scooters and reminiscent of bike handles, allowing for more a comfortable grip.
- Dual hand brake system to make slowing and stopping easier and more immediate when needed.
- Lowered baseboard to optimize the center of gravity on the scooter and make getting on and off easier.
- New kickstand with two legs to help avoid scooters from being tipped over when parked, which can help to reduce clutter on sidewalks.
- Enhanced suspension and larger wheels mean a smoother ride over cracks, warped pavement and anything else the cityscape can throw at you.
Most important of all is the addition of a swappable battery, which will drive even greater efficiency in our operations and further reduce the carbon emissions of scooter riding.
Source: Lime