Lime electric bike speed. What is Lime Access?

HumanForest Vs TIER Vs Lime: Which London Electric Bike Is Best?

And with car ownership declining and the ULEZ set to expand again to cover the entire city by 2023, London’s electric bike hire schemes are becoming increasingly vital.

All of which begs the question: Which of the London electric bike services is the best?

There are three big contenders in the capital when it comes to shared pedelec e-bikes: HumanForest, Tier, and Lime.

To help you sort the brilliant from the best-avoided, we’ll be comparing the three e-bikes on:

The Contenders: Human Forest, Tier, And Lime

How Much Do London Electric Bikes Cost?

Which Of London’s Electric Bikes Has The Widest Coverage?

Which Shared London Electric Bike Is The Best Quality?

Which E-Bike Service Has The Best App?

The Verdict: Best Electric Bike London

Ready for the lowdown on London’s e-bikes?

Let’s hit the road!

The Contenders: Human Forest, TIER, And Lime

#1. HumanForest

The new kid on the block, HumanForest bikes hit London’s streets in the summer of 2021 after a trial period the year before.

The only London-specific service on our list, HumanForest has an emphasis on sustainability. This FOCUS is backed by an all-electric fleet of maintenance vehicles, renewable-only battery charging, and a commitment to zero-emissions operations.

#2. TIER Bikes

European micro-mobility giant TIER launched in London with 500 e-bikes in late 2021, having already run successful programs in over 150 cities across 17 countries.

TIER runs e-scooters alongside the bike service, and has committed to a climate-neutral pledge – not quite as good as HumanForest’s zero-emissions promise, but still nothing to be sniffed at!

#3. Lime Bikes

Remember the distinctive red Jump bikes that used to be dotted around London before suddenly disappearing a couple of years ago?

The Uber-owned brand was struggling on the verge of collapse until it was snapped up by Lime back in 2020, and their e-bikes are now back on London’s streets with the new owner’s branding.

Like TIER, Lime also runs an e-scooter hire service.

Honorable Mention: TfL Santander Cycles

Often nicknamed for a certain Tory PM, TfL’s Santander bikes are now a staple of London’s transport network.

We’ve left them off this list as their fleet is currently made up of pushbikes rather than electric bikes, but they’re so familiar to Londoners that they provide a handy benchmark for new startup services to compare to.

And with 500 new e-bikes due to join the network in summer 2022, the Santander bikes might soon be challenging their electric-powered rivals on London’s streets.

How Much Do London Electric Bikes Cost?

(correct in April 2022)

Based on the headline price for a single 20-minute journey, HumanForest is the clear winner when it comes to London electric bikes’ value for money.

Even when the free 10 minutes are used up, HumanForest rides still end up cheaper than TIER or Lime as there’s no unlock fee.

Both Lime and TIER are trialling ‘safe pricing’ schemes that pause the clock while you’re at a standstill to discourage dangerous riding (such as jumping traffic lights). While this should remove the frustration of being charged for sitting at the lights on a HumanForest, it’s unlikely to make enough of a difference to make them more cost-effective.

However, if you’re making multiple journeys in a day, the trusty old Santander bikes can’t be beaten for absolute economy. Once you pay the £2 unlock fee, you get unlimited rides for 24 hours (provided they’re shorter than 30 minutes) – but you won’t get the electric boost of an e-bike!

How to Rent and Use a Lime Scooter | Electric Scooter Rental

Which Of London’s Electric Bikes Has The Widest Coverage?

HumanForest

Despite a recent expansion, HumanForest’s operating zone (or ‘Forest’ as they call it) is still somewhat limited compared to its rivals.

The Forest now extends south to Wandsworth, east as far as Bethnal Green, northwards to Finsbury Park, and west as far as Hammersmith. The area includes Green Zones where you can park for free – there are plenty around central London, but as you push towards the edge of the zone they start to get a little spaced out (though still only a 5-10 minute walk apart).

If you can’t be bothered trekking to a Green Zone, you can leave the bike anywhere in the Forest for a £1.50 fee – but parking in a Red Zone can land you with a hefty fine.

Coverage Rating: 6/10

TIER Bikes

TIER’s operating zone extends further east, west, and south-west than HumanForest, but leaves a gaping hole between Brixton and Richmond Park.

Unlike HumanForest and Lime, TIER e-bikes don’t allow you to end the journey outside a parking zone, even for a fee.

TIER bikes also operate in Islington – which for some reason they’ve not included on this map.

Coverage and Convenience Rating: 5.5/10

Lime Bikes

Lime bikes have the best coverage of the three by some distance.

They extend further in every direction than either of their competitors, and with fewer gaps – although you’re sometimes left with a bit of a walk to find a bike when you venture out to the suburbs.

Coverage and Convenience Rating: 7.5/10

Lime Overview

The FOCUS of the company was always on making an eco-friendly transportation system. Their job doesn’t just stop there, they also work on making all these e-mobility options accessible to the public with their on-demand rental services. They are a perfect example of a private company that wants to solve the problem of pollution and traffic congestion.

As I mentioned above as well, they started as a service provider of eco-friendly transportation systems with the name of Neutron Holding Inc. They were in the market for a long time but the game changed when they introduced e-scooters for rentals in 2018. The spike in their revenue and the capability of collecting funds tells the whole story of a next-level e-mobility company.

When they introduced e-scooter for rentals back in 2018, they raised a fund of 467 Million. Yes isn’t that mind-boggling?

Now the question is how did they manage to get that much funds with this simple idea? Let’s have a look at how they function.

How Does Lime Bike Work?

Lime has a slogan that states “Your ride anytime”, but is it really that easy to execute as well? Let’s understand how their service work. Lime decided to launch an app to ease the process and execution. The Lime app is available for both Android and iOS platforms and it is super easy to use.

After you download the app, you need to create an account. The information they need is minimal. It only requires basic information like your name, phone number, city, credit card information, and email address.

Lime has a range of vehicles from which you can choose. Let’s have a look at the type of services which they offer according to the city their customer resides.

Lime-S Electric Scooters

With a top speed of 14.8 mph and a range of around 20 Km, Lime-S is one the most liked ride offered by Lime. If you don’t know how to ride one, the app provides in-depth instructions on how to use Lime scooters. You must be above 18 years and must have a driver’s license. You need to verify your license by scanning it in the app before you take your first ride.

Lime-E Electric Assist Bike

These dockless bikes do not have any throttle however, the in-built motor in the bike will give you a boost while paddling up on steep terrain. In short, don’t expect that you can ride it on a motorbike. I classified them as regular bikes which are easier on your legs.

LimeBike Smart Pedal Bike

LimeBike Smart Pedal Bike is the first of their offerings when Lime incept in the business of dockless bike-sharing. There are many cities where they are still offering these simple bikes to share.

How LimeBike Earns?

LimeBike is super affordable however it is not free. They simply charge their customers every time they choose for a ride. As I already mentioned the type of rides they offer, the charges also vary with them. Have a look at their pricing structure.

Lime-S Scooters take 450 to unlock and then

Recent Funds Collected By Lime

Confirming rumors that have been swirling for some time, on-demand electric scooter and bike startup Lime today announced that it has closed a 310 million Series D financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, Fidelity Investments, GV, and IVP. It values the company at a whopping 5000.4 billion — double the previous valuation of 450.1 billion.

Existing investors Alphabet, Coatue, Fifth Wall, GGV Capital, Singapore’s GIC, and others participated, along with several new investors including GSV Capital, FJ Labs, Bling Capital, Europe’s GR Capital, and St. Augustine Partners. CEO Toby Sun said the funding will be used to expand Lime’s service into new markets, enhance its technology, grow its team, and pilot “new opportunities.”

The infusion of fresh capital comes as Lime sees its popularity soar in the 15 countries and hundreds of cities, towns, campuses, universities, and communities where it’s available. The ten million people who’ve signed up for service have taken 34 million trips, and Lime says it’s recorded a 5.5 times increase in trips in the past seven months alone.

Lime Is Still Ahead of Their Competition

Lime’s competitors are myriad, but its chief rival might be Bird, which has raised 400 million in venture capital for its electric scooter service. But Lime certainly seems to have a knack for fundraising — in the 18 months since its founding, it’s raised 867.1 million (according to PitchBook data), and its series C in June attracted 335 million. Lime is currently operating in 100 cities worldwide and expanding its services at a drastic rate!

.15 per minute ride.
Lime-E Electric-Assist Bike takes 450 to unlock and.15 per minute ride.
LimeBike Smart Pedal Bike takes 450 per half-hour ride.

You can clearly see that they are charging way too little if you compare it with other modes of transportation.

There is one program Lime is currently offering to its customers. Lime Access program targets low-income riders and offer them up to 50% of discount on Lime-S Lime-E. Also, they are offering 95% of discount on LimeBike Smart Pedal.

So, see this is how they are contributing to a pollution-free and traffic congestion less world.

Lime e-bikes are now available to hire in Nottingham

Bike hire operator Lime has launched an electric bike (e-bike) rental scheme in Nottingham, in partnership with Nottingham City Council.

Users can pick up and return Lime e-bikes from a network of designated e-bike-hire bays across the city.

Some features of the e-bikes include:

Built-in front and rear lights – with rear lights that indicate when users brake
An electric motor to help riders climb hills and restart their ride when stopped/stationary at traffic lights or zebra crossings
A phone holder, allowing riders to easily navigate without having to stop and check directions
Built-in baskets to help people carry shopping or bags
A range of 64km with batteries monitored by Lime so they can be charged when they run low

How to hire a bike

You can hire e-bikes through the Lime app which is available on the Apple app store or the Google Play store. Check out our frequently asked questions for more detail.

E-bike hire scheme area

The e-bikes can only be used within the Nottingham City Boundary. The scheme will launch with approximately 100 hire locations across the city centre and the surrounding areas. The scheme’s second phase will involve expansion into the remaining areas of Nottingham City.

How to hire a bike

You can hire e-bikes through the Lime app which is available on the Apple app store or the Google Play store. Check out our frequently asked questions for more detail.

The scheme includes ‘Go Slow’ zones where e-bike speeds are restricted and ‘No-go’ zones where e-bikes are prohibited. The map below shows where you can ride Lime e-bikes in Nottingham city centre.

Outside of the city centre there are speed and access restrictions in the following areas:

Go-slow zones:

Church (Rock) Cemetery
Nottingham General Cemetery
Nottingham War Memorial Gardens
The Park Estate (with the exception of Lenton Road)

E-bike parking

Lime e-bikes must be picked up and dropped off at the designated parking bays which can be found on the app. Lime e-bikes cannot be left outside these parking areas. Users who fail to park correctly will receive a fine. Users who repeatedly fail to park correctly will be banned.

Shared spaces

There are many areas in Nottingham where the space is shared by cyclists and pedestrians, including river and canal towpaths and paths in our parks and open spaces. It is important that riders behave considerately where space is shared with pedestrians and other path users. Inconsiderate behaviour can reduce the appeal of these places and is particularly intimidating for people with reduced mobility, or who have hearing or vision difficulties.

When riding in shared spaces please:

Be courteous and patient with pedestrians and other path users
Slow down in areas where space is limited or pedestrians are present
Take extra care in places where you cannot see clearly ahead, such as junctions, bends or blind spots
Use the e-bike’s bell to make people aware of your presence, but be aware that people might not see or hear you as many people are hard of hearing or visually impaired

How do I use an e-bike?

Download the Lime app from the Apple app store or the Google Play store.
Open the app and search for nearby e-bikes.
Scan the QR code on the e-bike to unlock it.
Put on your helmet.
Enjoy your ride, follow local regulations, use cycle lanes where available, and do not ride on the pavement (unless it is a shared space indicated by the sign below).
Reach your destination and ‘end ride’ in the app. Park correctly and make sure the e-bike is not causing an obstruction.

LA Tech Week Day 5: Social Highlights

L.A. Tech Week has brought venture capitalists, founders and entrepreneurs from around the world to the California coast. With so many tech nerds in one place, it’s easy to laugh, joke and reminisce about the future of tech in SoCal.

Here’s what people are saying about the fifth day of L.A. Tech Week on social:

#LATechWeek has been on Yes the events are super cool at amazing venues. But, I’m blown away by the people. I’ve met so many founders building generative AI companies from the ground up. I’m so bullish on LA right now. LA is for builders #longLA

Successful LatinxVC Avanza Summit 2023 in LA! It’s been an amazing few days near the beach w great company. Thank you to our panelists participants.

Huge thanks to our incredible sponsors SVB, Chavez Family Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, PledgeLA, Fenwick West, Countsy! piccom/oVuGIgFurk— LatinxVC (@LatinxVCs) June 9, 2023

30 gaming startups presented at the A16z Speedrun Demo Day in LA yesterday. Great thanks to the @a16zGames team for an awesome day of events! #LATechWeekpiccom/DKq8IFo5QZ— Grace Zhou (@graceminzhou) June 9, 2023

What’s the buzz? It’s #LATechWeek from @TechstarsLA @TechstarsHealth joint demo day with the #Techstar HC team where our @fyelabs founder/CEO Suvojit Ghosh mentored both cohorts! #TechStars demo day highlighted 12 amazing emerging #startups in #healthtech#innovation. piccom/0RXClCtfDQ— FYELABS (@fyelabs) June 9, 2023

Another successful Coffee On Slauson in the books for #LATechWeek.

Special thanks to the good people at Pledge LA, SVB and @GundersonLaw for the ongoing support and the @findyourhilltop staff for providing the space, eats vibes. ♻️ piccom/51cMDoEn30— Slauson Co. (@SlausonAndCo) June 9, 2023

The perfect combo to start #LATechWeek Day 5: pastries, coffee, and great convos with industry founders ✨

My favorite event from @Techweek_ has to be Modern Storytelling Business Building. Hosted by @STHoward#LATechWeekpiccom/SV1eexMJ4k— JonnyZeller (@JonnyZeller) June 9, 2023

And the finale of the night was courtesy of the one and only @zedd for an unforgettable end to the City of Games party! Hosted by @a16zGames and @100Thieves#LATechWeekpiccom/hliI9yLKse— Tech Week (@Techweek_) June 9, 2023

Excited to be at the @a16zGames Speedrun Demo Day! Loved the energy and excitement from the companies that pitched there. It was also great to see @Tocelot and @ndrewlee at this amazing #LATechWeek event piccom/NfLQO5lR27— Andy Lee | andypwlee.bit (@andypwlee) June 9, 2023

Thank you to everyone who joined the Sony Venture Fund US team at #LATechWeek for our screening of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Last summer, we started building a presence in LA. Today, it’s exciting to host such an event with the @Sony family and the LA VC community. piccom/wdDm6qtHdL— Sony Innovation Fund (@Sony_Innov_Fund) June 9, 2023

.defense primes partnering with cutting edge defense tech startups, to.

.hardware x LLMs improving mental health.

From the rich and diverse LA ecosystem stems generational companies: piccom/v5S5r8JtbU— Shahin Farshchi (@Farshchi) June 9, 2023

LA Tech Week has been a blast! Met some amazing creators, founders and investors from all over the world! #LATechWeekpiccom/AAh9JFELhe— Chris Germano (@netslayer) June 9, 2023

Had such a blast at LA Tech Week and hosting events for @brexHQ

Top highlights were collabing with @pulley on an Emerging Managers / Founder mixer at the @poplco House, rooftop event in Venice, creator panel with @thechangj proper Korean food with in KTown.

Really enjoyed #LATechWeek. Here are some observations I made — s.personal.ai (Suman Kanuganti) (@SumanPersonalAI) June 9, 2023

Thank you @TheKofiAmpadu for including me in #demoday with the latest @a16ztxo cohort! It was a real full circle moment to witness the brilliance of both @ChrisLyons @ZMuse_ #PledgeLA very own. She’s why we’re #LongLA #LAtechweekpiccom/itkKXMxQRb— Qiana Qiana! (@Q_i_a_n_a) June 9, 2023

Hosts Kevin Zhang, Partner at @upfrontvc, and Eden Chen, CEO of @pragmaplatform, interviewed two special guests from @raidbaseinc Stephen Lim, Co-Founder Product Director, and Trevor Romleski, Co-Founder Game Director. #LATechWeekpiccom/hxHEAoELZ6— Tech Week (@Techweek_) June 9, 2023

LA Tech Week: How These Six Greentech Startups Are Tackling Major Climate Issues

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on @Samsonamore.

At Lowercarbon Capital’s LA Tech Week event Thursday, the synergy between the region’s aerospace industry and greentech startups was clear.

The event sponsored by Lowercarbon, Climate Draft (and the defunct Silicon Valley Bank’s Climate Technology Sustainability team) brought together a handful of local startups in Hawthorne not far from LAX, and many of the companies shared DNA with arguably the region’s most famous tech resident: SpaceX.

Here’s a look at the greentech startups that pitched during the Tech Week event, and how they think what they’re building could help solve the climate crisis.

Arbor: Based in El Segundo, this year-old startup is working to convert organic waste into energy and fresh water. At the same time, it also uses biomass carbon removal and storage to remove carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it in an attempt to avoid further damaging the earth’s ozone layer. At the Tech Week event Thursday, Arbor CEO Brad Hartwig told a stunned crowd that Arbor aims to remove about five billion tons of organic waste from landfills and turn that into about 6 PWh, or a quarter of the global electricity need, each year. Hartwig is an alumni of SpaceX; he was a manufacturing engineer on the Crew Dragon engines from 2016-2018 and later a flight test engineer at Kitty Hawk.

Antora: Sunnyvale-based Antora Energy was founded in 2017, making it one of the oldest companies on the pitching block during the event. Backed by investors including the National Science Foundation and Los Angeles-based Overture VC, Antora has raised roughly 57 million to date, most recently a 50 million round last February. Chief operating officer Justin Briggs said Antora’s goal is to modernize and popularize thermal energy storage using ultra-hot carbon. Massive heated carbon blocks can give off thermal energy, which Antora’s proprietary batteries then absorb and store as energy. It’s an ambitious goal, but one the world needs at scale to green its energy footprint. According to Briggs, “the biggest challenge is how can we turn back variable intermittent renewable electricity into something that’s reliable and on demand, so we can use it to provide energy to everything we need.”

Arc: Hosting the panel was Arc, an electric boating company that’s gained surprising momentum, moving from design to delivering its first e-boats in just two years of existence. Founded in 2021, the company’s already 70 employees strong and has already sold some of its first e-boats to customers willing to pay the luxury price tag, CTO Ryan Cook said Thursday. Cook said that to meet the power needs of a battery-powered speedboat, the Arc team designed the vehicle around the battery pack with the goal of it being competitive with gas boats when compared to range and cost of gas. But on the pricing side, it’s not cheap. Arc’s flagship vessel, the Arc One is expected to cost roughly 300,000. During the panel, Cook compared the boat to being “like an early Tesla Roadster.” To date Arc Boats has raised just over 35 million, according to PitchBook, from investors including Kevin Durant, Will Smith and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Clarity Technology: Carbon removal startup Clarity is based in LA and was founded by Yale graduate and CEO Glen Meyerowitz last year. Clarity is working to make “gigaton solutions for gigaton problems.” Their aim? To remove up to 2,000 billion pounds of carbon from the atmosphere through direct air capture, a process which uses massive fans to move chemicals that capture CO2. But the challenge, Meyerowitz noted in his speech, is doing this at scale in a way that makes an actual dent in the planet’s emissions while also efficiently using the electricity needed to do so. Meyerowitz spent nearly five years working as an engineer for SpaceX in Texas, and added he’s looking to transfer those learnings into Clarity.

Parallel Systems: Based in Downtown LA’s Arts District, this startup is building zero-emission rail vehicles that are capable of long-haul journeys otherwise done by a trucking company. The estimated 700 billion trucking industry, Parallel Systems CEO Matt Soule said, is ripe for an overhaul and could benefit from moving some of its goods off-road to electric railcars. According to Soule, Parallel’s electric battery-powered rail vehicles use 25% of the energy a semi truck uses, and at a competitive cost. Funded in part by a February 2022 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Parallel Systems has raised about 57 million to date. Its most recent venture funding round was a 49 million Series A led by Santa Monica-based VC Anthos Capital. Local VCs including Riot Ventures and Santa Monica-based Embark Ventures are also backers of Parallel.

Lime Just Invested 50 Million into Its E-Bike Share

The company plans to expand to 50 cities globally by the end of 2021.

Lime recently announced a 50 million investment into e-bikes, planning to expand its fleet across the nation and the globe.
The e-bike and e-scooter rideshare company is also introducing a new model of e-bike. The biggest change is an easier-to-maintain battery that can be used interchangeably on the e-bikes and the e-scooters.

Lime is betting big on e-bikes—50 million to be exact.

How to Ride a Lime Scooter

The e-bike and e-scooter rideshare company announced the major investment on March 1, which was spurred by reaching its “first full quarter of profitability in 2020,” according to a Lime press release.

From Bicycling

Lime currently has e-bikes in 10 U.S. markets, and it’s looking to expand that to 20 to 25 U.S. markets, according to Lime’s communications director Russell Murphy. Globally, Lime e-bikes are currently in 26 markets; the new goal is 50 cities across the world.

“E-bikes are something that we’re eager to bet on,” Murphy told Bicycling.

The new e-bike investment marks a big change from what Lime was doing previously. In early 2019, the rideshare had largely shifted its FOCUS to e-scooters, and by early 2020, it had even phased out most of its bikes, according to Murphy. But Lime then acquired the Jump bike share from Uber last May, putting them back into the bike business.