Why did Lime quietly kill off its electric moped sharing program in NYC?

You’d be forgiven for not noticing, but shared micromobility company Lime’s electric mopeds have disappeared from the streets of NYC less than a year after their debut.

The electric mopeds (or “seated electric scooters” as my more pedantic commenters will soon inform me) were added to Lime’s micromobility suite to complement its standing electric scooters and electric bicycles.

They were first rolled out in Washington, DC, before joining Lime’s NYC fleet, and were used as a faster alternative to the company’s e-scooters and e-bikes.

At 30 mph (48 km/h), the electric mopeds took commuters out of the bike lanes and onto the roads, helping them reach destinations farther away in less time.

But they didn’t last long, as not even a year went by before they were pulled from NYC’s streets for Lime to refocus on its smaller micromobility vehicles.

Lime’s Jacob Tugendrajch explained to amNewYork Metro that the company “recently made the decision to wind down our moped program in New York City and focus entirely on the city’s e-scooter pilot program.”

While Lime didn’t specifically mention Revel, the competing electric moped–sharing service may have weighed into the decision.

Revel uses the same electric mopeds as Lime, which are produced by Chinese two-wheeled EV giant NIU.

Revel began with a multi-year head start on Lime when it comes to larger electric moped sharing, beginning operations in NYC with a pilot program all the way back in 2018.

While Lime initially brought 100 electric mopeds into NYC, Revel operates several thousand vehicles in the city. Revel has also expanded significantly into other verticals including electric bicycle subscriptions, Tesla taxis and charging stations.

Lime may be the largest electric scooter sharing company, but its experience lies largely in several hundred-dollar e-scooters and e-bikes, not several thousand-dollar electric mopeds.

The company now appears to be pouring its efforts entirely behind its e-scooter and e-bike programs, with Tugendrajch explaining that, “This first year of the e-scooter pilot has been fantastic and we are all-in on building on that success, focusing on safety, equity, and accessibility as ridership heats up with spring weather and we prepare to launch phase two this year.”