Lime introduced LimePrime at the end of February, a subscription service available in Salford, Nottingham, London, Oxford, and Milton Keynes. It provides riders with a fixed price for the initial 20 minutes of their journey, after which they are charged per minute at a discounted rate. In Salford, for example, LimePrime costs £1.50 for the first 20 minutes in return for a £2.99 monthly fee. This pricing structure is designed to make e-scooter and e-bike rides more affordable and predictable for users.
Lime's new subscription appears to target the cost of single journeys on public transport, where a bus ticket from Salford to Manchester costs £2 and a tram ticket costs £2.80. While season tickets for buses and trams can be cheaper than single tickets, Lime has arguably been perceived by some in the past as relatively expensive. By setting LimePrime's fixed rate competitive with bus fares, the company aims to attract commuters looking for alternatives to traditional transport modes.
The idea here is that we're trying to reward our most regular riders and also incentivise increasing [use].
According to BBC News - UK, Hal Stevenson, director of policy at Lime, described the idea behind LimePrime as rewarding regular riders and incentivizing increased use. He noted that many commuters, particularly in London, use hire e-scooters or e-bikes to reach railway or Tube stations before continuing into the city. Stevenson added that LimePrime is fixed basically at the same price as a bus, but it's much faster and more convenient because users can pick up an individual e-bike or e-scooter and go directly to their destination.
User experiences highlight potential adoption of LimePrime. James, a 23-year-old in Salford, uses an e-scooter for his 15-minute commute home from work, saving money with costs around £4 a day. Paige, a 22-year-old student at the University of Salford, is considering buying LimePrime for her twice-weekly commute to a weekend hospitality job in Manchester city centre. Her 15-minute e-scooter route costs about £2, similar to a bus, but is more direct and avoids traffic and other people.
It's fixed basically at the same price as a bus, but it's much faster and it's more convenient because you can just pick up an individual e-bike or [e-scooter] and go.
Lime operates bright green hired e-scooters and e-bikes in some British cities, part of a broader market that includes other companies like Forest and Bolt, as well as council-run schemes. This context raises questions about whether more companies and councils will align e-scooter and e-bike pricing with buses and traditional public transport, potentially changing how people travel to work in cities.