MD: Lime to debut new e-bikes in Baltimore

Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, will debut its newest electric bike in Baltimore — one of the first cities chosen worldwide to launch the product, Mayor Brandon Scott announced in a news release Friday.

The San Francisco-based company piloted the new bikes in select cities last year. After seeing successful results, Lime plans to deploy more than 10,000 e-bike vehicles in almost a dozen cities across Europe and North America in the coming months, according to the release.

Lime President Joe Kraus said in the release that during the pilots, it became “clear that the LimeBike earned the love of our riders,” and noted that they saw many repeat users.

Within the next few weeks, Lime will distribute a fleet of up to 200 LimeBikes throughout Baltimore.

Scott said he is “proud” the company chose Baltimore to debut the new e-bikes, and added that providing micromobility is “integral” to the city’s transportation infrastructure.

Baltimore awarded its fifth round of new e-bike and e-scooter permits to Lime and another electric vehicle sharing company, Spin, in June 2024, The Sun previously reported. The city launched its e-bike and e-scooter program in 2019.

In its application last year, Lime said it made product improvements such as enhanced hardware and the addition of high-visibility reflectors to their vehicles.

According to the release, Lime chose Baltimore because of the city’s investments in infrastructure, including designated bike lanes and parking.

Erika Duthely, Lime’s director of government relations, said in the release that the company saw potential to expand in Baltimore as it is “already a leading micromobility city.”

Lime users have taken more than 3.7 million rides in Baltimore since the company launched in 2017, the release said, adding that e-bike usage has almost doubled since 2024, demonstrating a “surge” in the desire for micromobility. In 2025 so far, Baltimore users have taken around 428,008 e-scooter rides and 78,889 e-bike rides, according to the release.

LimeBikes are designed for users who may have trouble pedaling for long periods of time or those looking for a two-wheeled electric option. The city’s director of the transportation department, Veronica McBeth, said that because the e-bike offers riders a seat, it will make micromobility more accessible to a larger pool of users.

“Making dockless vehicles convenient and accessible to all Baltimore residents is a top priority of our shared mobility program,” McBeth said in the release.

Duthely shared a similar sentiment, saying in the release that LimeBike’s launch aims to help “close transit gaps across the city.”

“We’re grateful to the city for its embrace of sustainable transportation,” Duthely said in the release.