Quick Guide To Lime And Lime Scooters

LimeBike made waves with its launch in 2017 as one of the very first bikeshare ventures in the United States. Building on the model of rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, they offer simpler and more affordable modes of in-city transportation. While their name seems to be everywhere (the company shortened it to Lime in 2018), not many people actually know the specifics of the company or the opportunities it offers. If you fall into this category, here’s everything you need to know about Lime and their services.

What Is Lime (And LimeBikes and Lime Scooters)?

LimeBikes are simply grab-and-go style bike rentals that you use for a small fee. With a dockless system, riders can locate available bikes in their area, unlock them for their journey, and then simply leave them at their destination. This process is convenient as well as affordable. However, Lime’s bikes are being phased out in favor of scooters, which have become far more popular.

For now, there are two styles of LimeBikes available: Smart Bikes and E-Assist.

Smart Bikes are traditional, pedal-powered bikes that are integrated into the company’s smart app system. Lime offers three variations of Smart Bikes: one-speed, three-speed (shown below), and eight-speed.

Electric Assist (or Lime-E) bikes, on the other hand, offer a boost of electric power. While you’ll still pedal, the battery increases your power and makes it easier to bike around the city. In fact, the Lime-E bikes can reach speeds of up to 14.8 mph.

If you want to try an actual Limebike, you should do it soon, as the company is phasing out bikes, in favor of scooters.

What Are Lime Scooters?

Known as the Lime-S (shown below), Lime Bike scooters are designed to make it even easier to get around a city with fast travel speeds and affordable costs. Riders can rent the scooters in the same manner as LimeBikes, but since they’re electric, there’s no manual labor involved.

Where Is Lime Available?

Lime is rapidly increasing their service areas. Currently, their main focus is on cities and college campuses. The states they’re operating in include:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Missouri
• New York
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Texas
• Washington
• Washington D.C.

Their biggest operating area is California, and some states only offer the service in one or two major cities. Also, Lime-S isn’t available in all of the cities that currently offer LimeBike. However, the company is working to expand their service area quickly.

How Much Do LimeBike Rentals Cost?

LimeBike rentals are incredibly affordable. There’s a standard rate for each bike and scooter rental, but exact costs for each electric model vary by city. Here’s a breakdown of their pricing model:

• Smart Bikes: Manual LimeBikes cost $1 for every 30 minutes of use. If you’re a student, professor, or staff member of a college or university, you only have to pay 50 cents for each half hour. To qualify for this discount, you need to set up your Lime rider account with a valid .edu email address.
• Electric Assist Bikes: Lime’s electric assist bikes charge a $1 base cost with an additional fee for each minute of usage. The per-minute charge varies by location, but on average, it ends up at around 15 cents.
• Lime-S: For Lime’s electric scooters, you’ll experience a pricing formula similar to the electric LimeBikes. There’s an initial fee of $1 to unlock the scooter, and then you’ll be charged a location-specific rate for every minute of use.

The company offers a special pricing program for frequent riders. LimePrme is a monthly pay tier that allows you to pay $29.95 for around $100 of LimeBike credits. College and university faculty can purchase a LimePrime membership for $14.95. However, this service is only available for traditional, pedal LimeBikes and not their electric counterparts or scooters.

You can use our LimeBike promo code – R2WAI74 – to get $3 in ride credits when you sign up. Click the button below to download the Limebike app and get started with your free Limebike rides.

How to Rent a LimeBike

Renting a LimeBike or Lime-S scooter is even easier than requesting an Uber or Lyft. You’ll need to first download the Lime app from the iTunes store or Google Play.  After you open the app, it’ll request that you sign up for the service, and then you’ll be able to enter your payment information.

To rent a LimeBike or scooter, you’ll need to find a bike on the map. Your current position is designated with a little blue dot while rentals in the area are identifiable by the green Lime logo.

Choose a nearby option and walk to it. Once you’ve arrived, you will scan the QR code on the back of the LimeBike seat or on the scooter’s handlebar. This step unlocks the vehicle and you can begin your journey. Here’s a short video that shows how to rent a LimeBike scooter.

The app will track your time, distance, location, and cost in real-time, so you’ll always know what your total expense is. When you’ve reached your destination, you simply park the bike or scooter in a safe location. For bikes, you’ll move the lock lever on the back tire to reset it. For scooters, you’ll click “Lock” on the app screen. You’ll see your total charges and trip summary on the app’s screen, so be sure to double-check that the cost is correct.

Everything You Need to Know About LimeBike Juicers

After launching their electric scooter service, the company needed assistance with recharging their equipment for the next day. This has created a new type of LimeBike job position, known as a “juicer.” Learn more about this side hustle and how you can benefit from it, below.

What Is a LimeBike Juicer?

LimeBike juicers drive around their service area to collect scooters for charging. They then take the scooters home and charge them overnight for a fee. For this particular LimeBike job, you’ll operate as an independent contractor, which means you have more freedom than a conventional position.

How Much Do Lime Bike Juicers Make?

Lime pays their juicers for each scooter they charge. This fee varies by area, but you’ll know the total payment available when you click the scooter on your in-app map. On average, you can expect to earn around $5 per charge. Initially, the company will provide you with three chargers, but you can feasibly charge more than three machines per night. They only require the scooters to reach a 95 percent charge before considering the job completed.

The more well-charged machines will take one to two hours to charge, while those with less juice need around five to seven hours. If you pick up six Lime Bike scooters — three that are mostly charged and three with a nearly depleted charge, you could potentially earn $30 or more per night.

How to Become a LimeBike Juicer

To join the LimeBike juicer community, you simply need to sign up on their website. For this process, you’ll provide personal information, contact information, and your vehicle type. The company requires each juicer to have a vehicle available to them to transport the scooters, such as a car, SUV, truck, or minivan. After reviewing your application, a member of the Lime team will contact you over the phone or through email. This conversation provides all of the information you need to know about the charging process and what the company expects from you as a juicer.

Once approved, you’ll be able to turn on “Juicer” mode in your LimeBike app. After 8 p.m., you can begin collecting scooters in your area and start charging them. The app will provide you a general area to drop off each scooter in the morning. All Lime-S equipment must be charged and placed back into the community by 7 a.m. After you’ve dropped off the scooter, you’ll click “Served” on the app and instantly see how much you’ve made.

The Future of LimeBikes and Lime-S Electric Scooters

LimeBikes and scooters make in-city travel convenient and affordable, but they also offer a money-making opportunity for locals. As the company expands, they’ll need more and more LimeBike juicers to keep up with demand. If you’re looking for a quick way to complement your income, scooter rental services, like Lime and Bird, provide a fantastic opportunity to earn money with minimal effort. Have you used LimeBike or Lime-S yet? We want to know how it went!

If Limebike isn’t in your area yet, you can request it here.