Considering the ongoing efforts to improve the world’s ecosystem and climate conditions, more countries are investing in smart technologies and micromobility. This led to a boost in the bike-sharing industry where companies managed to get good amounts of funding from many investors. In recent years, there have been man bike-sharing startups that received millions of funding from big companies.
Here is an overview of the fundings received by famous e-scooter apps:
- LimeBike Inc. recently raised $170 million in new funding led by Uber Technologies Inc. The round also included Alphabet, Bain Capital Ventures, GV, and other existing and new investors. The valuation on the round was not officially disclosed but was recently reported to be $510 million, down 79% from its $2.4 billion valuation as of the company’s last venture capital round of $310 million in February 2019.
- Mobike, which raised a $600 million round, led by Tencent, and Hellobike, which had raised over $500 million before being acquired.
- E-scooter startup Tier Mobility extended funding round to more than $100 million from $60 million.
- Berlin-based micromobility startup Tier has raised a significant Series C round of $250 million
Lots of funding to date! Isn’t it? Now, let’s have a look at the E-scooter valuations and investors in the chart diagram below:
Why are Micro-Mobility & Lime-like Escooter Ride Apps Growing?
The E-scooter market is expected to grow at a very high pace in the coming years, and people will start using e-scooter services for any kind of everyday activities like going to the office, going to the supermarket to buy groceries, attending classes, and much more.
Here are the major reasons for the growing demand for e-scooter apps and services:
Portable
Managing and carrying e-scooters is hassle-free as one doesn’t need to worry more about finding the parking space.
Hire Electric Scooter & Bike Rentals App Development
Environment Friendly
In comparison to cars and the other fuel-based vehicles that produce a lot of air and noise pollution, e-scooters are totally environment friendly which is good for maintaining the good climate conditions that are much needed in the whole world.
Easy to Move
E-scooters being adjustable and easy to move helps in avoiding traffic congestion that saves time and maintaining a good mood while going to the office or any other place.
Less Expensive
While hiring a cab can be a bit expensive, electric scooter apps like Lime offer cheap rates of around $2- $3.
Getting Started with Lime App
The Lime app was founded by Brad Bao and Toby Sun in January 2017 and raised US$12 million in venture funding led by Andreessen Horowitz within two months in March 2017. In order to make transportation more affordable and reliable, the lime app came with the concept of on-demand electric scooters rental services so that global problems like traffic congestion and climate change can be controlled. Lime app was formerly known as the LimeBike( American transportation company), located in San Francisco, USA. The app offered various segments in electric scooters that include electric scooters, electric bikes, normal pedal bikes, and car-sharing systems. The users can find nearby dockless vehicles with the help of GPS features and unlock them for use via the app.
Lime Programs to make a Better Community
Lime offers multiple programs to help communities and organizations by providing their on-demand electrical scooter rental services. Here are the different types of programs offered by the Lime app:
Lime Access
They truly believe in the equality of mobility for everyone and it resulted in creating a Lime Access program that offers discounted rates to qualified riders and allows them to use the Lime scooters without even smartphones and credit cards. However, in order to maintain the safety and security of their scooters, they have set some standards for people who want to become a qualified rider under this program. To pay without any ownership on a smartphone and a credit card, Lime users need to use PayNearMe to pay in cash at any CVS or 711 stores.
Lime Corporate Partners Program
As the name suggests, this program is specially created for those organizations who wish to give their employees a comfortable commute to the office. These types of programs if given to the workforce may lead to improved productivity with a simpler commute for meetings. Additionally, giving them a choice to opt between e-bikes or e-scooters that results in improved sustainability and decreasing the carbon footprint.
LimeHub Network
The main motive of this program is to help the small businesses who want to offer additional benefits to their customers. This, in return, gives some extra advantages to those businesses. It includes designated locations to increase foot traffic, a dedicated Lime support team to ensure the right placement of scooters, and earn free ride credits and special promotional offers for customers as well as employees.
Lime Real Estate Partners Program
This program provides realtors and property sellers an opportunity to increase their property value by improving location mobility. This will directly lead to increased property outcomes where tenants can commute comfortably within the property and it will also be considered as a green property because of environment-friendly transportation services.
Lime Campus
As the name depicts, the program is specially curated for students for a better commute to their respective educational institutions, thereby providing flat pricing to encourage students to use the Lime app.
Understanding the Business Model
Lime, being one of the emerging leaders in e-scooter rentals provides an easy to use way for simplified commuting. The users just need to install the app, find the nearby scooters via the enabled GPS feature, and unlock them via the mobile app.
In terms of pricing structure, it costs $4.99 per week in San Francisco, however, prices may vary depending on the region.
Furthermore, it charges a fixed rate to unlock the vehicle, and rest charges are made per minute as you ride. Note that rates and promotions may vary by city, day of the week, and time of day. To know the actual cost, one can tap onto the lime app and find the exact pricing based on their region.
Essential Features of Lime App
Sign up/Login
Getting started with the Lime app is easy. Users just need to follow the basic steps of the Sign up process.
Find the Vehicle
Vehicle search is easy with the enabled GPS feature that locates nearby Lime scooters.
Unlock the Ride
Users need to unlock the vehicle by scanning a QR code available on the app and they are all set to commute with the Lime app
Rating and Review
Based on the commuting experience, they can share their feedback in the form of ratings and reviews. This also helps the app for further modifications and improvements in the user experience.
Promotional Codes
Make use of promotional codes to get discounted rates on the electric scooter ride.
Multiple Payment Options
The multiple payment options allow users to pay as per via their desired payment method.
Chats & Calling
Users can contact the Lime customer service either via chat or call in case of any emergency situation or discuss any query,
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Push Notifications
This feature makes sure to notify users about the exclusive promotional deals, coupons, discounts, and their current ride.
Admin Panel
The admin panel is a common interface and dashboard to manage all kinds of activities. It provides a clear picture of the current riders, payment history, earnings, tasks management, and reports, etc. The admin panel offers a seamless user interface that provides clean and easy navigation to all the required information.
What is Lime Juicer
Lime scooters are electric and required to be charged regularly. For that, Lime offers people to become Lime Juicer, where they employ people on contract to pick up and charge their scooters every night. This helps needy people to earn money easily via the Lime app. The app works on the ideally of harvest and serves and here is how it is done:
This is how Harvest process works: Find the Scooter > Scan OR Code > Place it in your Vehicle OR continue finding more scooters > Take back to the scooter charging station.
This is how Serving process works: Check if the battery is 95 percent or more > navigate the location of scooters to charge > timing to make sure the scooter dropped off is being matched. Once, the above processes are done, the money will be credited to the Juicer’s account by Lime.
How much Does it Cost to Develop Lime like App?
When it comes to the cost estimate of an e-scooter app like Lime, then factors like app features, customization, integration matters the most. So, considering these important factors, Esferasoft has made three different e-scooter app development solutions where one can choose any solution based on their requirements.
Fully Customizable Solution
As the name suggests, the whole e-scooter app solution will be developed from scratch according to the custom requirements provided. Usually, such types of custom solutions are required in those areas where some specific needs are required to be fulfilled and that can be more beneficial to society. The cost of a fully customized e-scooter app development solution may cost between US $15,000 -US $30,000 as dedicated teams will work full time for some weeks.
Ready to Launch E-scooter App Solution
If someone wants to launch an exact solution like Lime, then s/he can go with the ready to launch a solution where the cost will be between US $2500 – US $3000. Also, the timeframe will be less.
Why choose Esferasoft for E-scooter App Development?
The main reason to connect with Esferasoft Solutions is that they have already worked and delivered an e-scooter application successfully and you can read a case study to find about the same in detail. Their mobile app developers are well-versed with all the modules and functionalities of on-demand e-scooter application development. Find brief information about the app by a graphic below:
For more information and to view a demo, you can get in touch with the Esferasoft team and discuss your e-scooter app requirements.
Note: This is to clarify that Esferasoft Solutions is not involved in the development of the Lime app and in any other way. Our team of experts reviews the successful on-demand businesses and shares their insights and understanding via the Esferasoft blog.
However, if you have a similar project idea in your mind, then you can discuss the same with us. We will be happy to assist!
