Shared Mobility Suffers Another Shock as Lime Retreats

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

---

13th January 2020

Shared mobility took another battering with news that e-scooter company, Lime, is backing away from providing a service in 12 cities making 100 staff redundant.

It follows on from news in December that BMW and Daimler had decided to row back on global expansion plans an shrinking their car-share operations to cover just 18 European cities.

The BBC reports that the company headquartered in San Francisco has said it will end its operations in seven cities in Latin American, four in the US and one in Europe.

Electric scooter start-up Lime is laying off around 100 employees and pulling out of 12 cities. While the closures form a small percentage of the company’s coverage of more than 100 cities globally, the news comes as a blow to investors who have bet e-scooter companies despite the fact that most lose money.

Lime had been one of the heaviest backed start-ups winning backing from Uber and venture capital company GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, among others. In a statement, Brad Bao, Lime chief executive and co-founder, said: “Financial independence is our goal for 2020, and we are confident that Lime will be the first next-generation mobility company to reach profitability. We are immensely grateful for our team members, riders, Juicers and cities who supported us, and we hope to reintroduce Lime back into these communities when the time is right.”

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_