The City of Melbourne announced that Lime, a shared electric vehicle company, has won its electric scooter tender and will add shared e-scooters to its existing fleet of shared e-bikes.
Lime becomes the first multimodal provider in Melbourne.
The City of Melbourne selected Lime as one of two shared scooter operators, thanks to its strong record of service as a bike-share partner in cities across Australia as well as its commitment to safety, sustainability, and support for small businesses.
Lime will launch 750 Gen4 e-scooters, augmented to fit Melbourne’s unique transport needs, adding to its fleet of more than 600 e-bikes in Melbourne, Yarra, and Port Phillip.
Hugo Burt-Morris, the General Manager for ANZ at Lime expressed his excitement.
“We’re thrilled by the opportunity to launch e-scooters in Melbourne, Port Phillip and Yarra, establishing a multimodal program suited to the area’s unique needs.”
“Providing sustainable, reliable, and safe transport is our priority, and we are honored to launch this groundbreaking program with the full support of the three regional councils.”
“Melbourne’s forward thinking approach to transport will reverberate across Australia as we look forward to building a future where transport is safe, shared, affordable, and carbon-free.”
Lime worked with the Victoria State Government, Melbourne, Port Phillip, and Yarra to bring e-scooters to Australia’s Global City as an additional option for sustainable local transport.
Lime will prioritise helping the regional economy get back on its feet and recover.
Lime will also focus on supporting Melbourne’s goal of transitioning to zero-emissions transport and supporting the City’s Transport Strategy 2030, which aligns with Lime’s mission to build a future where transportation is shared, affordable, and carbon-free.
As the first dockless shared micromobility company in Australia and New Zealand, Lime is now the largest operator regionally, with riders taking nearly 11 million trips since its launch.
More than 50k Melbourne, Yarra, and Port Phillip riders have taken 200k trips, replacing an estimated 50k car trips and preventing more than 22 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Lime looks forward to building on the success of its e-bike service and strengthening the positive relationships developed with Councils to bring a multimodal, accessible fleet.
Lime Gen4 E-Scooter
Lime will bring its industry leading Gen4 electric scooter to Melbourne, putting the City on par with other global metropolises like New York, Paris, and London. The goal is to lead the way on safety and provide the smoothest and most sustainable Lime scooter ride.
It includes a ground breaking helmet awareness system developed in consultation with the City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip and City of Yarra which is detachable and trackable.
It recognises when a helmet is detached from a scooter, ensuring helmets stay with scooter when not in use and reduces the potential risk of street clutter from a wayward helmet.
Lime also has technology that assesses whether a rider is on the pavement or a footpath and activates an audible notification which continues until the rider leaves the footpath.
Proactive learning education occurs after a rider has been detected on a footpath, Lime follows up the ride with a reminder to ride on the roadway via a push notification and in-app message, and the rider in question receives an email reminding them of the rules.
Highlights of the new Gen4 vehicle model include
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Swept back handlebars, reminiscent of bike handles for a more comfortable grip.
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Dual hand brake system to make slowing and stopping easier and more immediate.
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Lowered baseboard to optimize the center of gravity on the scooter.
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New kickstand with two legs to help avoid scooters from being tipped over when parked, which can help to reduce clutter on sidewalks.
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Enhanced suspension and larger wheels mean a smoother ride over cracks, warped pavement and anything else the cityscape can throw at you.
Safety
The Gen4 scooter with its integrated helmet system and footpath riding detection, Lime has designed a comprehensive safety plan for riders and non-riders alike in Melbourne.
Lime understands that safety is the key to a successful shared scooter program in any city.
Leading up to launch and continuing throughout the life of the scooter program, Lime will proactively educate its riders on the rules of the road. Specifically Lime will launch two ongoing marketing campaigns aiming to ensure riders know and follow the rules.
One will relay that parked scooters must not block footpaths, curb ramps, ADA ramps, business or property entrances, loading/service docks, driveways, or bus stops.
The other will communicate that there is no riding on footpaths, riders should use bike lanes whenever possible, only one rider is allowed at a time, and the risks of riding after drinking.
Lime will host in-person events that teach residents how to ride safely and park properly.
Lime’s Signature First Ride Academy events are based on data that accidents, though overwhelmingly rare, are more likely to happen on a rider’s first ride.
Based on that data, Lime instituted First Ride Academies to ensure anyone who hopes to use Lime scooters regularly has a chance to learn how to do so safely first.
Lime will host the First Ride Academy training sessions when the e-scooters launch.
Lime will consult a range of stakeholders so as to ensure appropriate safety precautions and we welcome any relevant organisations to reach out and join these discussions.
Community, equity and accessibility
Lime is committed to building a successful program for all Melbournians and will work with community partners, the Councils, and local groups to ensure that equity, accessibility and community become foundational aspects of the company’s multimodal service.
Equity will also be a cornerstone of Lime’s hiring process, starting with its successful partnership with Good Cycles, which provides in-field tasks like rebalancing vehicles and swapping batteries, and in-warehouse tasks such as repairing and cleaning e-vehicles.
Lime has worked with Good Cycles since 2020 and has employed more than 40 people already with plans to make an additional 28 local hires through this partnership.
Lime has also committed to hiring at least 3% Aboriginal workforce.
Additionally, of the 34 additional operations staff, Lime has identified up to 5 workforce opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jobseekers, as well as various training to support job readiness and pathway opportunities to employment.
Lime has created more than 21 direct and over 30 indirect jobs in Melbourne thus far and anticipates adding 30 direct and 120 indirect jobs as scooters hit the streets.
Accessibility is a core focus of Lime’s service and Melbourne will be the first City in Australia to benefit from its groundbreaking Lime Able program, which allows users to rent adaptive vehicles for free on demand for 24 hours at a time.
Lime will work with the Councils and local disability advocacy groups such as Women with Disabilities Victoria and First Peoples Disability Network to decide which Lime Able adaptive vehicles to deploy to meet the transportation needs of Melbourne’s disability community.
Lime has helped cities around the world get moving again as the pandemic has entered new stages and is looking forward to doing so in Melbourne.
In September, Lime launched its “Lime Access” scheme across Australia, providing discounted rides of at least 50% to support affordable pricing for users with a Services Australia Health Care Card, making a $450,000 investment in equity for riders in Australia and New Zealand.
Lime also launched its Ride to Recovery initiative in Melbourne in September, a global push to help cities get moving again by encouraging Lime riders to get vaccinated. Lime committed $50,000 to this campaign in Australia and New Zealand.
Supporting small businesses
Lime is committed to supporting the local economy of Melbourne, Yarra, and Port Phillip and has experience designing micromobility programs to spur economic activity around the world.
Lime and TheFork partnered to support restaurants and cafes with Dine on a Lime.
The collaboration allows Melbourne residents and visitors to rediscover the best of what the city’s hospitality scene has to offer with discounted e-bike rides to and from the restaurant and extra loyalty points towards their account with TheFork.
Lime will continue its Dine on a Lime promotion with scooters and will continue looking for new ways to support restaurants, cafes, and small businesses throughout the region.
Lime also plans to launch Lime Tours to encourage residents and visitors to explore businesses and destinations in Melbourne that they would not necessarily otherwise visit.
Lime will work with the Councils to identify SMBs interested in being regular e-bike and e-scooter deployment locations or Lime Hubs, to bring customers directly to their door.
Having pre-identified deployment locations near local businesses helps drive foot traffic, ensure proper vehicle parking, and create operational efficiencies that benefit everyone.
