Micromobility operator Lime had a record-setting year in 2023 with 156 million trips completed across its services.
This is the equivalent to about five trips every second for the entire year. Across its lifetime, Lime has now surpassed 500 million trips.
The operator credits three areas of its business model for achieving these milestones last year – hardware development, operations and local government relations.
“Our decision several years ago to invest in designing our own hardware was a difficult and expensive one at the time, but it has yielded significant benefits that continue to pay dividends today,” Lime Global Communications Director Russell Murphy told Zag Daily. “We are able to design for longevity, for safety and for the preferences of our riders and city partners, all of which show up when you see a Lime vehicle next to those of our competitors.”
With a focus on operational efficiency, Lime uses the same battery infrastructure for both its e-bikes and e-scooters helping standardise processes for field operations teams.
“This helps us with time and cost savings, but riders feel this by having fully-charged vehicles when and where they need them.”
Russell credits Lime’s proposal writing teams for the operator winning more than 90% of the competitive permit processes it entered globally. Active in 280 cities and nearly 30 countries, Lime saw trips double in more than 42 cities last year.
Record Gross Bookings
Lime set records with its Gross Bookings in 2023, with $616 million spent on Lime services – a 32% increase over 2022. This figure includes any applicable taxes, tolls, and other fees.
The operator had a full-year positive EBITDA and an Adjusted EBITDA, which removes irregular and distorting items, in excess of $90 million.
With 156 million trips recorded in 2023, Lime found that riders tended to use e-scooters for distances of approximately a mile, while e-bikes were used between 1.5 and 2.5 miles.
Of the 156 million trips were 9.2 million new riders who took their first Lime ride last year.
A £25m investment boost for London
With London being one of Lime’s leading markets, the operator has revealed plans to invest an estimated £25 million in the city in 2024.
The new investment includes new hardware as Lime looks to expand into three further boroughs and the opening of a second warehouse in North London that will double the headcount of its operational workforce. Lime is currently in contracts with almost half of London’s boroughs – 16 in total.
As part of its wider efforts to tackle parking in London, the investment also includes £1 million for parking infrastructure. Last year, the operator found that 50% of Lime users said they would not walk further than 200m to pick up or drop off a bike at a parking station. This means around 25 parking stations are needed per km2, equating to 10,000 new stations across London.
