Traffic & Transit

Lime Launches Shared Electric Mopeds In NYC

The well-known electric scooter company will offer mopeds in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

A Lime dockless electric scooter is parked on a Wilshire Boulevard sidewalk, available for its next rider, on July 9, 2018 in Los Angeles.
A Lime dockless electric scooter is parked on a Wilshire Boulevard sidewalk, available for its next rider, on July 9, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY — A popular electric shared vehicle company officially wheeled into New York City.

Lime launched electric moped service in Brooklyn, Queens and Lower Manhattan on Friday.

The company is well-known for its e-scooters that dot cities such as Los Angeles and Detroit — and will come to the Bronx this summer as a pilot program along with their rivals Bird and Veo.

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But Lime will take the first bite out of the Big Apple with their e-mopeds.

"E-mopeds can serve a vital role in expanding access to affordable, safe, and carbon-free public transportation to more New Yorkers," Wayne Ting, the CEO of Lime, said in a statement. "Now, as New York emerges from a difficult year, we’re eager to support an economic comeback driven not by cars, but by sustainable options that reduce congestion, allow for open-air, socially-distanced travel and complement the city's subways and buses."

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The e-moped service positions Lime as a potential rival for Revel, which offers similar rides.

Revel isn't standing still either — the company recently announced it'll launch a fleet of electric Teslas to compete with Uber and Lyft, the Verge reported.

Lime's e-moped service offers new users the first 15 minutes of their rides for free. Their e-mopeds come with two helmets and top out at 28 mph.

Lime's moped service also comes with artificial intelligence safety features that will check to see if a rider's face matches the driver's license given, as well as sensors to detect whether they removed a helmet, according to a release.

Safety concerns over mopeds briefly shut down Revel's service last year after a spate of high-profile crashes. The company returned to service under new Department of Transportation-approved safety features.

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