Lime Puts Brakes On Bikes In Medford

MEDFORD, MA — Lime is pedaling out of Greater Boston – including Medford. The company told the Metropolitan Area Planning Council this month it will not renew its contract for the area in 2020.

This might not come as a shock to Medford riders, as the city was among the low end of activity for participating communities between the program's start in April 2018 and September 2019. Medford was part of a four-community cluster that saw the highest inter-municipal trip exchange, meaning rides started in one community and ended in another.

The bike-share has been around for more than a year — travelers could find and unlock Lime bikes with their phone. The service came to town as part of an area council that served 15 nearby communities. The dockless bike program also allowed riders to leave bikes along the sidewalk, corners or path as long as the bike didn't block the way for pedestrians.

The move comes as the company recently announced that it planned to leave several other cities, including Atlanta, Pheonix and San Diego in the U.S. and Bogota, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro in Latin America, laying off 100 employees.

But Lime plans to stick around the Boston area with its e-scooters. A scooter pilot program took place in Brookline last year, and the company is working with Boston on figuring out regulations there.

"Over the past year, Lime has focused on launching and growing our scooter fleets in the US, which have been very popular in cities across the globe. Our recent scooter pilot in Brookline proved that the same excitement exists here," Lime said in a statement.

Any Lime user with remaining funds in their Lime account can use that balance in any other active Lime market, or request a refund through the company's customer support channels.