INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Lime is the hot new thing in San Francisco, but will it work in other countries The company just launched its electric scooter service in
Paris.This isn’t the first European city as Lime is also operating in Berlin, Bremen, Frankfurt and Zurich
But it’s a significant launch as alternative mobility solutions have all been trying to grab some market share in Paris.Yesterday, you
could see 200 scooters in the South East of Paris ready to be deployed
Lime plans to expand its fleet over time
Every day, the company will collect all the scooters at 9 PM to recharge them and put them back on the streets at 5 AM.Between October and
January, four bike-sharing services launched in Paris — GoBee Bike, Obike, Ofo and Mobike
GoBee Bike has left the market since then because it was underfunded and suffering from too much competition.But Mobike and Ofo seem to be
doing really well, especially if you compare it to the docked bikes — Vélib is more or less broken right now
Vélib started in 2007, years before cities like New York and London adopted a bike-sharing system
That’s why Parisians have had enough time to get familiar with the idea of sharing a bike with other members.And then, there is Cityscoot
and Coup, two electric scooter services (motorcycles, not standing scooters)
They’re more expensive but quite popular, especially for longer distances.It leaves Lime in an awkward position
I tried a Lime earlier today and wasn’t convinced it was the right solution for Paris
First, it’s quite expensive
You pay €1 to unlock it and then €0.15 per minute
A 20-minute ride costs €4 for instance
This is more expensive than 20 minutes on a Cityscoot, and less expensive than 20 minutes using Coup.But it’s way more expensive than 20
minutes on an Ofo bike, which costs €0.50
I’m not convinced people are willing to pay eight times as much for everyday rides
Public transport options are also much more efficient in Paris than in San Francisco.Paris is also much more difficult to navigate on a Lime
scooter than San Francisco
There are speed bumps made out of paving stones and narrow streets
In addition to that, you can’t brake abruptly because you’re just standing on a scooter
I had to brake constantly in order to overcome those obstacles.And yet, cities will need many different options to replace cars
There won’t be just one thing
People will use a multitude of transportation methods, from bikes to Lime scooters to electric motorcycle scooters
Now let’s see if Lime scooters won’t end up in the Seine.
