Lime has had a record year. Lime scooters and bikes in Prague covered almost 3 million kilometers last year. Since the beginning of the company’s operation in the capital, Lime has offered an alternative to more than 800 thousand potential car crossings. The number of locals who have become accustomed to using scooters has also increased – in 2023, the number of rides by foreigners and Czechs on Lime machines equaled, and the ratio of local users has been steadily increasing over the long term. The city districts are also going against this, having set up hundreds of parking spaces for bikes and scooters. Lime has joined forces with other bikesharing platforms and together with the Technical Communications Administration Prague (TSK) they are setting uniform rules for all platforms to make responsible parking as simple as possible and the rules as understandable as possible.
In 2023, Lime focused on making the best possible use of machines in the streets. While scooters and bicycles made 25% more trips year-on-year, their number on Prague streets even decreased slightly year-on-year. The growth in the use of scooters and bicycles has a long-term positive environmental impact – Lime has saved almost 400 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in Prague since the beginning of its operation in the Czech Republic. According to the latest TSK report, there are around 1.25 million cars in the capital – in addition to public transport, riders on scooters and bicycles also contribute to limiting their use.
“Every night, our workers and partners replace the batteries on scooters and bikes that drop below 20% charge and, if necessary, move them to where they are most needed. The numbers of bikes and scooters also reflect seasonality. They are most popular in the summer months and as soon as we see that demand drops, we withdraw some of the scooters and bikes from circulation,” he says Václav Petr, CEO of Lime for the Czech Republic and Hungary. “Our goal is to offer a tool that can be used as much as possible, which will complement the mix of urban transport and provide locals and tourists with a pleasant and ecological alternative to driving a car or a supplement to public transport.”
Every second rider is local, 45% of riders ride regularly
In 2020, Lime launched a subscription system in Prague – Lime Pass, which allows riders to save significantly on regular rides, as they will be exempt from the fee for unlocking the scooter for the duration of the Lime Pass and can reduce the price to 2.40 crowns per minute. In 2023, almost half of the riders already used this subscription.
“A rider who rides regularly is the most beneficial for the city and makes full use of the beneficial potential of bikesharing. It limits emissions, does not take up space in rush hour traffic and, last but not least, it has ‘trained’ safe driving rules,” he says Václav Petr “Lime Passes are mainly purchased by locals, who thus rid e-scooters in particular of the stigma of being a tourist toy. Yes, many Czechs and foreigners still drive only occasionally, for pleasure. But the use and benefit of electric transport is much wider.”
Platforms joined forces with TSK, together they solve problem-free parking of scooters and bicycles
Lime with bicycles and scooters significantly “pedals” also into problem-free parking. Last year, it intensified cooperation with city districts and other bikesharing platforms – the result was hundreds of new parking spaces for machines of all platforms. Negotiations are now underway with TSK, the result of which should be the unification of parking spaces under one administrator – TSK – and the simplification of parking rules so that drivers can always easily park correctly.
“Some city districts have already had a built-in system for several years – for example, Prague 3 and Prague 7. Other city districts are still building the system, so it takes longer to set it up, even if there is interest in bikesharing. It helps urban areas to solve urban transport problems – for example, in places where it is not possible to park your car well, such as Letná, Staré Město or Malá Strana, or busy transport hubs such as IP Pavlova, Strossmayerovo náměstí or Karlovo náměstí.” explains Václav Petr
Nevertheless, the situation is managed to be resolved even in urban areas where the system is just being created. The Prague 2 district is a popular destination for cyclists and scooter riders. Last year, in cooperation with bikesharing platforms, it created around 100 parking spots and more are on the way. As a result, the platforms can more effectively motivate riders to park in the right places, thus benefiting the urban transport ecosystem through good practice in setting up the parking system.
Professional studies show that the ideal distance between parking spaces is 100-150 meters. It is thus possible to ensure that the very exposed parking spaces, where the maximum capacity of bikes and scooters of all Prague bike sharing is often filled, do not prevent riders from parking within walking distance of their destination.
“A contract should be concluded this year that sets uniform rules for all platforms, which we see as the best solution. Riders don’t deliberately park in the wrong way, they know that they face a fine from bikesharing – we handed out over 500 of them in June alone. But they often don’t know where to park,” he says Václav Petr. “With a unified system, they will know that once they rent a bike or scooter, they can only park in designated parking spaces or in zones where parking is not a problem – but always only in a permitted way, which they can prove by taking a photo. We are ready to participate financially in the construction of new infrastructure, especially parking spaces and lanes, in proportion to other bike sharing, car sharing and car transport. Our role models are large European cities such as London, Rome or Berlin, where the locals perceive bikesharing as a benefit for their city – whether they are walking on the sidewalk or sitting behind the wheel. They realize that every driver who is not behind the wheel reduces the traffic load.”
This year, Lime wants to support the trend of increasing use of scooters and e-bikes, so that each of the machines is as beneficial as possible to the city. The construction of infrastructure should also contribute to this – both for parking and for driving itself. By densifying the network of parking spaces so that spaces are no more than 100-150 meters apart and making them visible, Lime wants to ensure that riders always have an easily accessible option to park correctly.
“The greater expansion of micromobility will be helped by the creation of suitable conditions by the city. In the future, for example, we would like to offer riders the option of supporting electric bikes thanks to cooperation with Lítáčka, just as bikesharing platforms with classic bikes now offer, which will increase the share of rides on our electric bikes.” he says Václav Petr “At the same time, the creation of new bike lanes, preferably separated ones, will help to increase the use of bikesharing, so that riders can be assured of greater safety, especially in the city center, where they can relieve congested car traffic the most. And we want to participate in the improvement of the transport infrastructure – we have rich data on which routes are the busiest and where cycle lanes will have the greatest effect.”
TZ Lime
Tags: Lime drove million kilometers Prague
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