You may have already seen them zipping around your city, parked along the curbs, and literally, everywhere you look.
Scooter sharing and bike share options are popping up in cities across the United States on a daily basis.
Next to Bird scooters, Lime scooters are one of the most popular options out there.
Lime enables people to rent dockless electric scooters and bikes, helping them travel across town for a small fee.
If it’s your first time renting a Lime scooter, we want to answer questions you may have have regarding the platform. Let’s get right into it!
What Is Lime?
Lime is a micro-mobility company that offers dockless bike-sharing and scooter-sharing options throughout major cities across the world.
Through the Lime mobile app, riders can locate, reserve, and ride different Lime rental options for a small fee.
The phenomenon of micro-mobility scooter companies, like Bird, Skip, Spin, and Jump, is catching on like wildfire.
More and more cities are jumping on board and allowing these companies to operate in their city, relieving urban congestion and providing pedestrians with cleaner alternatives to public transit.
Lime has four different options in its mobility fleet.
- Lime-S: Dockless electric scooter that goes nearly 15 miles per hour
- LimeBike: Smart pedal bike that has eight gears
- Lime-E: Electric-assist bike that automatically accelerates as you pedal
- LimePod: Short distance urban car rental option
Let’s take a closer look at the Lime-S scooters.
How Do Lime Scooters Work?
Lime-S scooters are available for people like you to reserve and ride throughout your city.
With the Lime app, you can locate, rent, and pay for these dockless scooters for a small fee.
Lime scooters are a fun and healthy way to get around your city.
Whether you’re using them to get to and from work, grabbing a quick bite to eat, or exploring the city with a group of friends, these scooters are a ton of fun and are extremely convenient.
Reserving Lime scooters is a pretty straightforward process.
After you download the app, you can locate scooters near you and rent them for a small fee.
How Much Does Lime Cost?
Lime scooters are quite affordable and only cost $1.00 to unlock the scooter and $0.15 for every minute driven.
Compared to what you’d pay for a quick hike down a few blocks from rideshare options like Uber or Lyft, this is definitely a cheaper — and let’s be honest — a more fun option.
If you’re curious about the LimeBike and Lime-E electric assist bike, those also only cost $1.00 to unlock and $0.15 for every minute driven.
The only Lime option that costs a little bit more is the LimePod short term car rental option.
This also costs $1.00 to unlock, however, it’s $0.40 per minute driven.
How To Use A Lime Scooter
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s jump into how to use a Lime Scooter.
1. Download the Lime App
To use a Lime scooter, you must first download the Lime app.
Head to the App Store or Google Play, then install the app on your smartphone to get started.
After you download the Lime app, provide your payment information, and create your profile, you’re ready to start riding.
2. Find a scooter near you
To locate an available scooter near you, simply open the app and you’ll automatically see the map screen.
On the map you should see different icons for each of the Lime rentals options.
Since we’re trying to rent a scooter, look for the scooter icon that indicates where you’ll have to walk to rent your next ride.
If you don’t see any icons on the map, zoom out to see if you can find any rentals that may be a little bit further away.
3. Unlock Your Scooter
Once you find the scooter you want to ride, you’ll need to unlock the scooter to begin your rental.
To unlock the scooter, you’ll need to open the app and tap the “Ride” button at the bottom of your screen.
You can then decide to either scan the QR code on the scooter’s handlebars or you can input the six-digit code located by the QR code.
At that point, your rental will begin and your fare will start accumulating $0.15 for each minute driven.
Don’t forget that after you’re done with your rental, you need to lock your scooter.
To do so, hop back on the app and tap the “End ride” button.
3. Parking Your Scooter
While it may seem as though you can just leave your scooter wherever you please, there are some rules that you must follow.
To start, you should never leave your scooter in a roadway or pedestrian walkway.
Scooters should be out of the way of any traffic and should be located near the curb or next to a building.
If a scooter is right in the middle of a sidewalk, it could become a tripping hazard for pedestrians.
Also, you should always park your scooter upright and with the handlebars turned to the left.
If there are other scooters around, make sure you park yours neatly in a line next to the others.
Staying Safe While Riding
Lime scooters are fun, but they can be dangerous.
After all, you’re oftentimes riding them in large cities in the middle of the streets since they are not allowed on many sidewalks.
Luckily, there are a handful of tips, given straight through the app, that can help keep riders safe and help make sure you enjoy your ride.
Wear a Helmet
Depending on which state and city you’re from, wearing a helmet while you drive your scooter may be required or it may be optional.
By law, some cities may require that you wear a helmet, but in many cases, you won’t need to wear one.
However, it’s always a great idea to wear a helmet when you ride a Lime scooter.
Since you’ll be riding in the roads and in bike lanes, you’ll be right in the mix of other traffic which could pose some dangerous hazards.
Also, you never know when you might encounter debris or potholes that could cause you to take a tumble.
The more protection you have, the better off you’ll be.
Follow the Rules
Of course you do! As mentioned above, you’ll likely be driving your scooter on public roadways.
This means that you’ll need to follow any traffic laws that apply to ride safely around.
Since the scooters only go 15 miles per hour, you’ll never have to worry about exceeding the speed limit, but you’ll still need to abide by other laws.
This means stopping for red lights, yielding for pedestrians, and making sure you’re not traveling in the wrong direction of traffic.
Also, since the scooters don’t have turn signals, it’s important that you incorporate hand signals to notify other drivers of your turning and stopping intentions.
We’ve included a few hand signals you can use the next time you’re on the road.
For the most part, as long as you’re not driving like a maniac you should be fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who Charges Lime Scooters?
All of the Lime-S scooters are powered by a 250-watt electric motor that will need to be charged on a daily basis.
But who is charging these scooters?
Independent contractors, or Lime Juicers, are people who go around collecting Lime scooters with dead batteries.
They then take them to their own home and charge them overnight before deploying them to locations around the city the next morning.
Charging Lime scooters is an easy way to make some extra cash on the side from the comfort of your own home, and pretty much anyone can become a Lime Juicer.
2. Do I Need a License to Drive a Lime Scooter?
In many cases, you don’t need a driver’s license to operate Lime scooters.
On the other hand, in some states and cities you are required to have a driver’s license to drive a scooter on public roads.
Next Time, Choose Lime
Now that you have everything you need, it’s time to get out there and start renting today.
You can literally ride anytime of day, so what kind of plans can you conjure up?
Bypass the aging public transit system and skip the typical ridesharing options.
It’s time to spice up your commute and opt for a Lime scooter instead!
