Transportation startup Lime is going to shut down LimePod, its car-sharing service, which is introduced the very last November in Seattle. Lime strategizes to generate eliminating its vehicles from the avenues of Seattle subsequent month and will wholly shut down its services by the finish of the year. GeekWire reported the news for the first time.
Lime has worked a pilot plan in Seattle from last year and is ready to finish off after the year. All through the program, over 18,000 users enjoyed more than 200,000 trips in LimePods, as per a spokesperson by Lime.At the release, the plan was to reveal car sharing for small distances and finally restore its vehicles with an all-electric convoy. Lime, nevertheless, is not here to make LimePod an everlasting match of the city at this position.
Lime wrote in a mail to LimePod users, “While the program was a great learning experience, at our core, we are an electric mobility company first.” “We are committed — like Seattle is — to sustainability, lower carbon emissions, and to make cities more livable, all of which require reduced car travel.”
Moreover, Lime even stated that it was unable to figure out the right partner for its electric feet of LimPod that outcome in the verdict to conclude the program at the finish of the pilot period.
Steve Banfield, Former ReachNow CEO, said, “What you’re seeing in the industry is a lot of people experimenting with different ideas. LimePod was Lime’s experiment … that they want to end the experiment and focus on their core business doesn’t surprise me. You see this in these industries in transition.”
He added, “Clearly it’s a difficult business.” “Our position was always that in order to make car-sharing work, you need to integrate it with other services. For us, that was ride-hailing and long-term rentals and other things. In the case of Lime, they were clearly focused on shorter trips, with the bikes, and they were only asking a small fee with cars. That limits the kind of utilization they can get.”
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A spokesperson from Lime told TechCrunch, “We deeply appreciate our partnership with the Seattle community and the opportunity to collaborate on our LimePod Pilot Program.” Adding further, he said, “The experience is a testament to the city’s forward-looking position on the future of transportation and the necessity of sustainable options for citizens. We are similarly committed to that goal and the information gained during our pilot will support the work necessary should we decide to expand and improve this service with an all-electric fleet in the future.”
Lime that got its starting as a bike-share organization has now executed its scooters, as well as bikes in over 100 cities in the U.S. & more than 20 global cities. Lately, Lime reaches 100 million rides all through its micro-mobility vehicles. Lime views more of a prospect with communal scooters and bikes than it does with cars.
In the starting of this year, Lime raised a $310M Series D round guided by Bain Capital Ventures & others. That round esteemed the startup at $2.4 billion.
