Lime pulls fleet of e-scooters out of Atlanta market

By Collin Kelley

Lime removed its fleet of electric scooters from the streets of Atlanta on Jan. 23, as the city continues to formulate stricter guidelines for dockless devices.

In a media statement, Lime cited profitability as its reason for departure and said it would also remove e-scooters from 11 other cities around the world, including Phoenix, San Diego and San Antonio.

According to a recent report in the Atlanta JournalConstitution, Lime owes nearly $70,000 in impound fees to the City of Atlanta for improperly parked or uncollected scooters. The impound fees were part of a wave of regulations introduced by the city last year to try and wrangle the proliferation of devices, complaints by residents and four scooter-related deaths.

The city also imposed a nighttime ban on the rental of e-scooters, forbid them from being ridden on sidewalks and the Atlanta BeltLine imposed an electronically enforced speed limit on the Eastside Trail.

Lime said in its statement: “As part of our path to profitability, Lime has made the difficult decision to exit Atlanta and focus our resources on markets that allow us to meet our ambitious goals for 2020. We’re grateful to our team members, riders, Juicers, and communities who supported us throughout this journey. We appreciate the partnership we’ve enjoyed with Atlanta and remain hopeful we can reintroduce Lime back into the community when the time is right.”

Lime joins Lyft and Gotcha in exiting the city, but there are still five companies operating in the city – including major players like Bird and Bolt – with more than 6,000 permitted devices.

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