Lime Bikes is now only renting electric-powered models ebikes, which use a small motor to give riders a boost as they accelerate or go up a hill, the Boston Globe reports.
But the switch will come with one big drawback for riders: the electric bikes are more expensive. According to the company’s app, they cost $1 at the start and 15 cents a minute, compared to $1 for 30 minutes on a traditional bike.
Eric Bourassa, transportation director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional agency that organized the bike-rental system, said the switch to an electric-only fleet raised concerns among activists and local officials that the increased cost will be too much for some low-income users.
This is great.
I gave up on the regular bikes at the end of last season and would only use the ebikes since the regular bikes made my shiny new knees ache. Not enough gears, seats could not be adjusted high enough, not a good overall experience. The assist that the ebikes gives was enough to boost me up a hill and take pressure off my knees even in the less than perfect seat position. Good for Lime. E-assist and ebikes are going to be a big part of the bike market. I really enjoy them.
Lime will only provide eBikes if the municipality will also offer the eScooters. I have seem a lot of people on the eScooters in Brookline and not a one with a helmet. One guy was actually traveling in the flow of traffic
Can you ride those bikes like a normal bikes if you’re not interested in the “enhancement”?
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
$10/hr (a little less) is not cheap, but these are heavier than a normal bike (to move around each night by the LimeBikes people), plus they will require charging, not to mention higher repair and replacement costs.
Makes you wonder if $10/hr is even enough?
For short rides around town, most of which is flat in my part of town, the E-bike is simply unnecessary. And while I wouldn’t think twice about spending $1 for that short ride, I would be unlikely to do it for $4.50. I can appreciate why having the E-bike option is great for some people and some rides, I don’t understand why they can’t continue to offer the regular bikes as well. I think they will lose ridership, or at least this rider.
I agree with NewtonNewbie. I have no problem with introducing electric bikes but they should keep traditional bikes also. We should not be making it more expensive for people to hop on a rented bicycle.
How are the brakes on these ebikes? See
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/nyregion/citi-bike-electric.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage
Didn’t MAPC go through a selection process that Newton participated in, which resulted in Lime and Spin being selected? Did Lime make clear that they might at some point remove non-electric bikes during that process? Will we have the same number of bikes, or a significant reduction in the number of available bikes?
I’m withholding judgment for now but I have some questions about what was promised and what we’re getting.
@ NewtonNewbie “I don’t understand why they can’t continue to offer the regular bikes as well. ”
As the article points out they aren’t making money and they rent way fewer regular bikes than ebikes
“From now on, Lime will no longer rent bikes unless they can also rent scooters, which are ridden 14 times more often than bikes,
“
The regular bikes were fairly useless.. they were heavy and only had 3 gears, making hills a struggle. The E bikes are super easy to use with “no gears” and make it faster and easier to attack hills. I barely break a sweat on my usual runs around Newton Corner now, despite the long inclines. And since you arrive sooner at your destination, you won’t rack up as much of a bill – you probably won’t be on these much more than 10 minutes. You could certainly cross Newton in about 45 minutes on one of these.
I’d wager that if the motor on these is a dealbreaker for you, you probably already own a bicycle suited to your style.
I’m also very hopeful we get the scooters. They will really bridge the “last mile” gaps we have with transit in our city. I’ve thought about buying my own if they don’t arrive as rentals.
Obviously their economics are better for eBikes, plain and simple. Yes, they charge more. But likely get better utilization per bike, might be cheaper to maintain, etc. These companies are smart.
Seems like a bit of bait and switch. Newton is not Lime’s first location, is it? If the non-e bikes are so unappealing and heavy even on flat surfaces, why did the company not know that?What happens to all the regular bikes taken out of Newton? Hopefully not this: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/08/china-abandoned-bike-share-graveyards/566576/
@all: Did any of us actually believe that the original lime bike model could work in Newton, and that anyone could make money with that business model? I agree with Julia that this was a bait and switch on an audience ready for something innovative!!
I’m disappointed that the peddle bikes are no long available. They were great if you wanted to hop on a bike and go a few blocks to grab lunch or get to the T. I’m even more disappointed that there are far fewer bikes on Newton’s streets than there were upon launch. (I’m posting this at 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday and there isn’t a single bike on Needham Street or Wells Ave.)
But let’s recall, Newton and the other MAPC communities do not pay Lime any money. And unlike Blue Bikes in Boston, there’s no corporate sponsor paying to have its logo on their bikes to underwrite the costs. So we don’t have much, if any, leverage.
It’s really up to this independent start up to find a model that works for them. And this is a new, evolving, industry. Ideally, there would be more than one vendor vying for our bike share share. At the moment there isn’t.
It does seem a bit baity/switchy but as far as I can see, no harm done.
We got a year’s worth of bikes around the city that people seemed to enjoy at no cost to the city. Going forward we can have electric bikes and/or scooters if the city wants them.
Greg this is unrelated, but I’m curious on your take on the continued and growing empty storefronts in Newton Centre. Can you start a thread on that?
@claire….there is NO WAY Greg is going to post anything on the empty storefronts in Newton Centre!
He’s the same guy in staunch support of Northland; to ram countless sq ft of retail space to go along with the proposed 800 apartments for Needham Street! #notgonnahappen
@ Matt Lai, I think Greg will as he has a vested interest is seeing a thriving Newton Centre and may have some insight. Or an of the other moderators may
Currently in DC with the family for school break. The electric scooters are EVERYWHERE. Lime is here, as well as another 1/2 dozen companies offering the same including Uber and Lyft,
They are actually fun as heck and at $16/hr, they’ll make some $$…at least here in DC (tourists) and until the novelty wears off.
Do I think it will be as successful in Newton? NO!
Will Newton PD turn a blind eye to underaged riders (technically you have to be 18, and while on vacation kids are riding with their parents)? Newton will not have many tourists. And most importantly, New England weather!
Claire,
Retail outside of tourist areas is really struggling. Even in Manhattan upperwest side has many empty store fronts…
Newton should focus on office space, restaurants are extremely fickle…consumers have simply switched to online sales. Having a row of restaurants is the most likely outcome
More stores have closed in 2019 than in all of 2018
http://amp.businessinsider.com/retail-apocalypse-start-of-2019-more-store-closures-all-of-2018-2019-4
I walked pasted a regular pedal Lime bike today near the NC T station so clearly all the pedal bikes haven’t been pulled. But I also haven’t seen any scooters and the article said a municipality must agree to both scooters and eBikes. So I am wondering in Newton will discontinue the program. No way do I see Newton Police Dept agreeing to e-scooters on Newton streets.
According to the city’s transportation director there were only 35 Lime ebikes in Newton earlier this week. The company has agreed to increase that to 75 shortly. That still feels insufficient but it will be an improvement.
That highlights the seeming problem with the business model. There has to be a critical mass of bikes so that one can make the return trip. Greg , did the city’s transportation director say anything about the eScooters?
Scooters are not currently allowed in Newton.
Per the Globe Article “From now on, Lime will no longer rent bikes unless they can also rent scooters, which are ridden 14 times more often than bikes”
Given that stated eLime policy, and assuming scooters continue to not be allowed in Newton, I don’t see how the eLime business continues in Newton. My guess is the Mayor is either trying to negotiate with eLime and/or Newton Police Dept.
Personally, I’d like to see the eBike stay, but do not support the scooters as it would be very unclear where they can operate safely. And I haven’t seen a single person on a scooter in Brookline wearing a helmet.
I can’t wait for lime e-scooters to come to Newton, although I think ultimately sharing is not a viable business model, because the price point & portability of owning e-scooters will soon be irresistible. Newton gridlock will help drive defections from cars.
http://www.gadgetreview.com/best-electric-scooter
Nathan – We agree on just about everything, but every once in a while… 😉
I think e-scooters in Newton are a terrible idea for so many reasons. Too many to list. Safety, safety, and safety would be the three to top my list.
Jane, I agree that Newton streets are unsafe for scooters, as well as for bike riders, wheelchair users, & in many places, pedestrians. It’s what is holding back lime bike use. I hope you’ll join many of us who are advocating for a network of safe routes of protected or separated bike lanes that will serve a whole range of e-mobility users as well. I wish we could wait for the city to build the safe infrastructure first but my experience is that it won’t happen without street advocacy by users themselves. I don’t expect to see you on a scooter but I hope you won’t work to prevent me from making a choice to use one.
“Newton streets are unsafe for scooters, as well as for bike riders, wheelchair users, & in many places, pedestrians. It’s what is holding back lime bike use”
Nathan what data can you cite that indicates that Lime bikes were unsuccessful to to the concern about safety?
My hypothesis is the Lime bikes failed because 1) the bikes were ill suited for the casual rider trying to travel across Newton’s hilly terrain and 2) there isn’t as much pent up demand for bike travel as advocates are trying to assert
I saw two Lime scooters outside of Wegman’s yesterday. Are Lime scooters available in Newton now. I read on this thread that Newton doesn’t allow them. Of course the could have originated in Brookline.