Lime rolls out ex-Uber bikes in Sydney

The control of the pandemic sees Lime share electric bikes return to Sydney but they are not the green ones of old.

Lime bikes are returning to Sydney but they will be red Jump bikes offloaded by Uber.

The control of the pandemic sees Lime share electric bikes return to Sydney but they are not the green ones of old.

Instead Sydney’s new fleet of Lime bikes will be bright red. That’s because in the intervening months since the pandemic began, Uber offloaded thousands of its stylish Jump bikes and scooters to Lime which has distributed them to several cities around the world.

Uber took part in a $US170m fundraising around May which saw Lime acquire some of its micro mobility fleet. According to reports, Google parent Alphabet through GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Bain Capital Ventures also took place in the fundraising.

Since that time, Jump electric bikes have begun appearing under the Lime name at cities in the US as well as parts of Europe.

Uber’s ditching of Jump bikes was shrouded in controversy when it destroyed a large number of the bikes at a facility in North Carolina, rather than offer them to charities, according to the BBC. But some of the newer bikes were saved from the scrap heap. The BBC reported that Lime‘s chief executive Wayne Ting said he preferred the design of Uber’s bikes and would deploy more of them in the future.

This week Lime sent emails to customers in Sydney to say the company will be back in operation here, but using new Jump bikes that had been housed by Uber in Australia.

“Our Lime bikes are back but look a little different,” the company says in its email. “We are delighted to be back on the streets of Sydney with our new ‘Jump’ bikes.

“The new bikes include new safety features and enhanced power to get you comfortably up those lovely hills around the city.”

ANZ head of government relations at Lime, Mitchell Price, says Sydney is the 16th city in the world to use Lime-labelled Jump bikes. Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, Washington DC, Seattle and Denver are among others.

He says Lime scooters had been back in action in Brisbane since July, but they were Lime Generation 3 scooters, not Jump ones. Lime is operating Jump scooters in only one city – Auckland, New Zealand, he says.

Mr Price says the initial rollout of Jump bikes in Sydney is taking place from this week and will be mainly in the eastern suburbs. Initially 1000 will be available with more coming as Lime’s operation upscales.

He says users can hire a Lime Jump bike using either the Lime app or the Uber app.

He says the old green Lime bikes won’t return. These bikes were two years old and needed repairs and upgrades. In contrast, the Jump bikes were brand new and hadn’t been ridden. They had been stored at an Uber warehouse in Australia. He says the turbo boost feature of the Jump bikes made them a more powerful ride.

Share bikes bring with them the danger of virus transmission from touch. To that end, Lime says it will clean and sanitise its bikes in line with New South Wales COVID-safe business practices.

However, Lime can’t clean every bike between every ride, so those jumping on share electric bike should conduct their own cleaning. Lime identifies handlebars, brakes and helmets among frequently touched areas.

Mr Price says the batteries on the Jump bikes need servicing every two days, so cleaning will take place then. He says Lime wants all customers to wash their hands before using a Jump.

Uber had announced plans to roll out Jump electric bikes in Australia at the start of the year as part of its then plan to promote multi-modal transport; that you could book a ride that included a bike, ferry, train and car as a single event.