Seven thousand Londoners download scooter app as trial launches
Some 7,000 Londoners signed up for e-scooter operator Lime’s app over the weekend as the capital’s e-scooter trial kicked off in earnest.
The largest micro mobility operator in the UK said they saw an average of at least three rides per each of their 200-strong fleet as Londoners to find and hire Lime e-scooters using an app.
Lime are one of three operators in the trial, with Dott and Tier.
The trial is the UK’s largest for rental e-scooters, and was launched across London in partnership with TfL and London Councils.
The e-scooters have a number of safety features including on-vehicle geofencing technology, pothole-proof wheels, mountain bike inspired suspension. Customers also have to scan their driving license and complete a virtual safety test before they are able to unlock and use the e-scooter.
“Wherever we operate, safety is always our number one priority,”said Alan Clarke, Director of Policy at Lime, referencing the “highly accurate geofencing to control rider speed and behaviour, and on-vehicle technology which can detect pavement riding.”
The safety features, Lime says, will ensure their e-scooters are not used or parked outside designated areas and parking bays, and swappable batteries reduce the overall environmental impact of maintaining the fleet.
Lime’s existing e-bike fleet has delivered over 3 million zero carbon rides, to more than 400,000 customers since its launch in 2018, according to an official statement.
The company has already ran e-scooter schemes in Milton Keynes and Greater Manchester, and says it has close to half a million e-scooter and e-bike users in London.
The bright green and white e-scooters are docked in Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond, Canary Wharf and Tower Hamlets. The trial is expected to be expanded to at least two more central London boroughs in July.