Lime e-bike usage doubles in 2021, invests further £20 million in London

Micromobility provider Lime has announced a doubling of hired e-Bike trips in 2021 – with 2.4 million journeys completed in 2021 alone – a new annual record for the provider.

Reviewing the growth, Alan Clarke, Senior Director of Policy for Lime UK&I, commented: “After the worst of the pandemic was over and strict lockdowns lifted, a flurry of Londoners turned to our e-Bikes as an easy, open-air and socially distanced means of transport. Many haven’t looked back. From popping to the shops or meeting with friends in parks – and increasingly the return of the commute – ditching cars for e-Bikes and e-Scooters when taking short trips has offered people a safe, affordable and sustainable means of transport. With our e-Bikes’ popularity now significantly superseding pre-Covid levels, it’s clear that what we’re seeing is just the start of an exciting behaviour change in London as we look to reduce carbon emissions and live our lives more sustainably.”

With this in mind, Lime has announced its plans to invest £20 million in London over the next 18 months, with vehicles primed to utilise more than 100km of new or upgraded cycle routes (which) have been delivered, or are under construction, since the start of the pandemic, as well as hundreds of kilometres of quieter streets, extended pavements, new School Streets and many more junctions made safer.

Statistically, one in five Londoners now live near the cycle network, which marks a 10% increase on 2019. On these paths and beyond Lime registered an 128% overall ridership raise on 2019 data. 8 million miles were covered over the course of these trips.

Camden Council experienced a significant rise in the use of Lime’s e-bikes in 2021 following the launch of several cycle improvement schemes, which formed part of the Council’s broader Covid-19 Safer Travel Programme in 2020. The schemes included the installation of trial cycle lanes on some of the Borough’s busiest roads, alongside other upgrades like junction improvements. In these areas, Lime e-bike trips were found to increase between 93% and 756% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Proximity, and availability, played a critical roll in the success of the original bike share schemes in both Paris and London, at a time when cycling saw nothing like the level of support for, or investment, in dedicated infrastructure, in either city. As we move further through the pandemic, increasing numbers are again embracing active transport, bolstered by experiences using shared micromobility schemes. This has been buoyed still further by accessibility of private e-Bike ownership, largely brought about by the 2019 changes to the Cycle To Work scheme, resulting in a swathe of new retailers specializing in micromobility products.

As air quality issues remain, and congestion in the capital reaches points where traffic moves slower than 100 years ago, cycling, e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-cargo bikes, represent a necessary step in the evolution of urban travel.