London commuters are our ‘most important’ e-bike users, says Lime boss
London’s commuters are our “most important” riders, the CEO of the e-bike operator Lime has said.
Speaking to City PM Wayne Ting, Lime’s chief said that “commuting is the most important use case” for the popular vehicles as demand soars in the capital.
Lime has seen a 10 per cent monthly increase in riders in London since 2019, with the now-distinctive ‘clacking’ noise – made by Lime bikes which have been hacked to avoid paying – being a strong contender for the capital’s song of the summer.
Nearly 39 per cent of Lime riders use the e-bikes for commuting in London, according to research from the transport consultancy Steer, making it the company’s most important target market.
The figures suggest that the e-bikes are playing a significant role in bringing workers into the office, amid a growing debate over hybrid working trends and the quality of the city’s public transport connectivity.
“But for us, really, when we see a riders usage go up. That’s because they start to use cycling as a way to get to work and get back to work,” Ting said.
Manish Kharel, general manager for Lime in London, told City PM that commuting was “now our most common journey with many people based in outer London Boroughs, using the bikes to get into Zone 1.
Ting believes that the capital as a whole has become such an “incredible market” for e-bikes due to its “density of population” and congestion, as well as the expensive cost of taking a taxi or personal car through the city.
His comments come as traffic congestion and air pollution shoot to the top of the political agenda, with mayor of London Sadiq Khan recently winning a legal battle to expand the controversial Ulez zone throughout London.
Yesterday, Sunak announced he would launch a review into Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) – which bar cars from residential neighbourhoods – and pledged his support for motorists in what is quickly becoming a defining political issue ahead of the next election.
For e-bike startups like Lime, HumanForest and Dott, environmental commitments from the mayor and Transport for London to improve cycling infrastructure have been crucial, Ting argued, with policy commitments to building cycle lanes key. “I think it’s a real goal that they’ve set to increase cycling tenfold.”
“That means more bike lanes, that means more low speed neighbourhoods, all those things are driving adoption.”