Lime to Pull Its Scooters Out of San Diego

Lime Scooter is pulling all of its scooters out of San Diego and says they will likely be gone by the end of January. The corporation is closing down its operations in 11 other markets as well.

Lime spokesperson Alex Youn said:

“As part of our path to profitability, Lime has made the difficult decision to exit San Diego 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 San Diego and remain hopeful we can reintroduce Lime back into the community when the time is right.”

Lime called San Diego one of the first cities to “welcome” their scooters but one of the last to develop rules. At its peak, Lime had 4500 scooters, or “devices” as some call them, in San Diego. So why is Lime leaving paradise?

Artie Ojeda at 7SanDiego reports:

Lime suggested the company would have preferred a clear regulatory framework but instead voiced concerns about impound transparency, rogue impound companies, and a potential ban on beach boardwalks that would decrease ridership. The company also expressed frustration of being involved in last December’s permit revocation hearing. …

In July, the city approved rules that include a $150 permit fee for each device. …

The city had sought to revoke Lime’s permits after alleging it had violated geo-fencing rules that limit the speeds of the devices.

As one of the more prominent scooter companies operating in San Diego, Lime received its share of complaints, by beach residents, by emergency room doctors, and by some politicians.  Councilmember Barbara Bry – who is running for mayor – called for a ban on all scooters last year. Ojeda quoted Bry:

“It’s clear that the scooter industry has an unsustainable business model.  In addition, a study released by the University of California San Francisco documents a dramatic increase in traumatic head injuries at twice the rate of bike riders. The study recommends that scooter riders wear a helmet– something the City of San Diego cannot require because of state legislation.”

Councilman Scott Sherman – who is also running for mayor – was also quoted by Ojeda who attributed Lime’s departure to recent boardwalk bans:

“Those who speak warmly of innovation while at the same time knee-capping innovative startups are being hypocritical. San Diego leaders need to decide once and for all if we want to be a cutting edge innovative city that embraces new technology or a city that merely tries to ban the future.”

So Lime had been getting push-back from neighborhoods. Well, it was never about the technology, it was the way the scooters – including Lime’s – were rolled out.