Micromobility provider Lime announced today an addition of £6.3m investment in the UK’s capital in response to an increase in demand for its transport services.
This brings the total sum invested by Lime in London to £26m in 2022.
The initial £20m opened a new warehouse and meant Lime could launch its latest Gen-4 e-scooters and Gen-4 e-bikes. The funds also supported the company’s expansion in the Capital this year, with e-bikes launched in two new London boroughs – Hackney and Hammersmith & Fulham.
Other areas of investment have been for hiring personnel. The company reports growing its workforce by around 70% this year, including a 50% increase in its patrol teams during the summer.
Lime said its total rides were up 117% year-on-year from January to July, with a 67% increase in first-time riders during the same period.
“The demand for sustainable transport in the Capital has been overwhelmingly positive,” Lime’s Senior Public Affairs Manager for UK and Ireland told Zag Daily. “Following a series of successful tenders and expansions into two new London boroughs, Lime invested a further £6 million into the city as we grow our operations, increase our workforce and expand our patrol teams.”
Wayne Ting, Lime’s CEO, commented: “The investment marks our commitment to London, and is a vote of confidence in the local Government’s own investments into world-leading active and sustainable transport policies. It signals our support of the transformative steps taken by the Mayor and London Councils to encourage cycling and other sustainable transport modes over cars with high-quality infrastructure.”
Ting points out that the company aims to reach profitability this year. “This should provide reassurance to our local partners that not only are we here to stay long term, but we’re eager to work collaboratively to achieve our shared climate goals.”
Earlier this week, Transport for London (TfL) decided to launch a competitive procurement process to determine which operators will run the next phase of London’s rental e-scooter trial, an initiative fully supported by the micromobility industry.
The contracts currently sit with Dott, Lime and TIER. They were due to expire this year, but to ensure a continuation of service, they will now be extended to September 2023 while the procurement is completed.
