Even before the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything, Lime was already known across the world, responsible for 200 million trips across 100 cities in more than 30 countries.
Lime was founded on a simple idea that communities all around the world deserve access to affordable mobility – whether that is through shared scooters, bikes or transit vehicles. The company continues to go from strength to strength due to its diverse workforce and its commitment to what it calls its ‘safe, sustainable micro-mobility experience’ in every city it serves and leaving future generations with a cleaner, healthier planet.
To understand more on how this technology will continue to evolve and inform our lives in 2021, I met with Alan Clarke, Director of U.K. Policy and Government Affairs at Lime to understand what comes next after a 2020 to forget.
Alan Clarke – Director of UK policy and government affairs at Lime
Lime https://www.li.me (C) 2020
“The coronavirus pandemic has had a substantial impact on travel. More people than ever are convinced by the importance of sustainable transport and the benefits of sustainability as a whole. At the height of the first lockdown, pollution levels across Europe dropped by 50% because of fewer cars on the road. Suddenly, people experienced much better air quality and quality of life, especially in cities like London, where traffic levels fell by nearly 80%. While the number of cars on the road has since increased slightly, many people are determined to avoid returning to their cars in an attempt to even out the pollution levels across the country.”
Several major cities around the world have already made significant inroads into adopting more sustainable, alternative ways to navigate, including London in the U.K.
“We’ve seen great strides in London as a city, including introducing new cycle lanes and pedestrianized roads to make it safer – and improve the air quality in densely populated areas. Our research in Europe shows that cities that invested in bike infrastructure during the pandemic have seen a 110% increase in usage of the new lanes. With 86% of the public expressing concerns about using public transport again, there has been a huge rise in active travel. At the height of the lockdown, we saw a massive spike in the demand for our e-bikes, with users taking longer journeys and using them more frequently. A recent Department of Transport study showed that nearly 40% of Brits are cycling more than before the pandemic. With more bike lanes in the U.K., we increase the chance for electric and shared mobility options to become the way to commute daily in the long run.”
A more familiar sight on roads (hopefully always with a helmet on, just like we cyclists should do!) are e-scooters. Recently legalized in some specific city-wide trials, Lime has been involved from the beginning in this new trend.
“There has been a huge public appetite for e-scooters as well as e-bikes, which are now a vital part of everyday life in cities around the world. In August 2020, Lime became the first provider to kick off a full-scale e-scooter trial in the U.K and we are now running schemes in Milton Keynes and Salford. In Milton Keynes, we invested in extensive safety training for riders, as well as implementing pavement detection technology, which raises the bar for industry. We know the value that environmentally friendly travel alternatives can offer a city, and how to navigate the bumps along the way when implementing these trials.
Lime Scooter (c) 2021 Lime
Lime Scooter (c) 2021 Lime
These have already proven to be very successful – in the first four weeks of the trial at Milton Keynes, residents and visitors took over 20,500 e-scooter trips, saving an estimated 5,134 car journeys and 3.18 tons of carbon.
“These trials provide much needed additional transport capacity and offer an open-air, socially distanced, emission-free transport alternative for cities across the U.K. We’re excited to see more people leave their cars behind and move towards clean transportation options.”
Lime’s strategy is to use their global experience and innovation to meet the individual needs of the cities and communities they operate in – all at a time when public transportation is at a record low in usage due to the impact of Covid-19.
“We see the need for more alternative transport options across the U.K., especially as people are still hesitant about returning to public transport. As areas slowly return to ‘normal’, shared e-bikes and e-scooters will be key to the long-term recovery, easing the pressure on the roads and public transport. Not only do they provide an easy and affordable way to get around, they also provide an eco-friendly alternative to short car or taxi journeys. People can still get to the park or their local shops as normal. However, it is important that local councils and operators continue to work closely together and are held accountable for the safety and wellbeing of riders, pedestrians and other road users.”
As we enter 2021, Clarke believes e-scooter popularity will continue to surge in the U.K. as it already has in other countries – changing the way we commute, potentially forever.
“People will increasingly use micromobility solutions for their daily commutes, with growing infrastructure and accessibility to multiple modes like scooters, bikes and others. That combined with raising the bar on sustainability standards in the micromobility world really has the potential to replace car trips in the future. Our experience in this area will help as the U.K. looks to further roll out with proven operators and robust safety mechanisms.”
There is, of course, a chance that when things return to a reality more closely resembling 2019, people may revert to their old habits and potentially back towards more polluting transportation options. Clarke, however, feels we are seeing a real sea change that will affect mobility forever.
“I believe the pandemic has led to a long-term fundamental shift in attitudes, not only among decision makers, but among the public. That said, it is our responsibility as micromobility providers to equip people with safe, clean, comfortable and accessible alternatives to cars or motorcycles. Secondly, the key to making that trend permanent is close cooperation between companies like Lime and cities in the areas of infrastructure, safety and street order. There have been some great strides towards this already, with new cycle lanes throughout the country, but a recent study by INRIX found that people in London, Birmingham and Manchester were still using their cars for short journeys, with 65% of car journeys being under three miles. These types of trips can be easily replaced by micromobility options and this is where the Government should focus its attention. We’ve seen great success with the trials already rolled out and are looking forward to cooperating with more cities in the U.K. to adopt them.”
It is truly exciting to see the emergence of new methods of transportation – and even more exciting when they are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than the ones we relied on before. There are multiple challenges presented by this type of change – and scooter usage in general is clearly not perfect yet. The emphasis must always be on safety first (as I mention above, I hope everyone on bikes, scooters and various other methods always wears a helmet, are careful, and respectful of all other road users – I know many of you devoted scooter users reading this are doing exactly that so please continue to encourage others who are not!). This new world will take some getting used to as we shift our perceptions about what is now ‘normal’, and hopefully as better safety compliance and more understanding grows, an exciting future is ahead of us in this area.
