Electric Scooter Company launches in Paris

Lime scooters have been well received in San Francisco. The company just launched its service in Paris. It also has its operations in other European cities that include Zurich, Frankfurt, and Berlin. Over 200 scooters were deployed on the streets of Paris recently.

Some already question the company’s decision to launch in Paris, given the competition and the convenient public transportation facilities in the city. San Francisco, on the other hand, presents a better market for electric scooters with its high concentration of technology companies, resulting in horrifying traffic conditions. Paris however, does not face traffic conditions that are as bad as that in San Francisco.

Last year saw four companies- GoBee Bike, Obike, ofo and Mobike launch electric scooter services in Paris. The intense competition resulted in GoBee halting its operations with its condition worsened due to ongoing difficulties in securing investments. In addition to electric scooters that require customers to stand, there are 2 firms, namely, Cityscoot and Coup that offer conventional electric scooters on which customers could be seated for their ride.

All these factors, pose major hurdles for Lime. Additionally, Lime’s services are also decidedly more expensive. One has to shell out 1 euro to unlock one of the scooters and pay 0.15 euro per minute. This is significantly more expensive than riding Ofo bikes.