Lime plans electric moped pilots in Washington DC and Paris

Micromobility provider Lime is planning to launch e-moped pilots in Paris and Washington D.C. to establish the viability of adding the service to its fleet of electric bikes and scooters.

The company intends to dispatch 600 shared mopeds across the US capital this spring, and is still considering numbers for its Paris rollout.

While neither city has confirmed their participation in the pilots, a Lime spokesperson told Cities Today the firm is in “active talks” with both and anticipates it will have the relevant permits in the coming months.

“The addition of electric mopeds to our fleet 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.

“We are a committed partner to over 60 cities in Europe and we continue to invest heavily in sustainable and safe product solutions municipalities and riders need. This is why we choose Paris as one of two cities in the world to pilot our e-moped service allowing riders to make longer trips than ever before using the Lime app, in a safe and clean way.”

The mopeds will be available via Lime’s smartphone app, though details on prices have yet to be released.

Safety

Lime is not the first micromobility company to experiment with shared e-mopeds in Washington D.C., as New York start-up Revel Transit launched its service in the city in August 2019.

The company was forced to temporarily shut down in New York City last year after two customers were killed and one was critically injured while riding the e-mopeds. It eventually resumed service with new protective measures for riders, including a mandatory in-app safety test and a requirement that all riders take a picture of themselves wearing a helmet before starting a journey.

Lime will introduce similar safety features on its mopeds, requiring a valid driver’s licence and a photo of the rider wearing a helmet, which must then be worn at all times throughout their trip.

Lime’s e-mopeds will also use infrared sensors inside helmets which can tell if a helmet has actually been removed from the case. Lime says it will take “strict enforcement measures” for repeat safety violators, including removal from the platform.

US users will also be required to take a rider safety course, developed in partnership with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, before using the service.

Image: Lime