MILWAUKEE — After a previously successful program, Lime deployed 1,000 of its signature shared electric scooters in Milwaukee Wednesday. This is part of the city's push to bring the scooters to Milwaukee streets full-time. In Lime's pilot program, residents and visitors tallied a total of 235,000 trips on the vehicles.
In a release, Lime Director of Government and Community Relations Midwest, LeAron Foley, said that the company is offering the program based on equity, safety, and accessibility.
"Lime is thrilled to be launching in Milwaukee once again, giving residents and visitors a safe and sustainable way of getting around as the city continues its comeback from the coronavirus pandemic and people start getting moving again," said Foley. "We are excited to build on our previous successes to partner with the City of Milwaukee to offer a program focused on equity, safety, and accessibility. We will expand access and improve equity by providing automatic 50% discounts across the Northside and we will increase safety by actively educating riders on sidewalk riding and the rules of the road to prevent riding on the Riverwalk and other prohibited zones to prioritize the safety of non-riders as well. We look forward to continuing to work with our community partners, our Lime Hero partner Running Rebels and City leaders to understand and meet Milwaukee's micromobility goals and needs"
Lime is one of the three electric scooter companies selected for this year's test program. This is the second time the city has experimented with electric scooters. The first was back in 2019.
After residents expressed concerns over the safety of the scooters, Lime plans to educate riders throughout the program through in-app messaging, in-person events, and marketing and communication efforts. The company also offers customer service channels to report safety and maintenance issues, improperly parked vehicles, or general inquiries. Those channels are staffed 24/7 by a multilingual team.
The program also focuses on accessibility to residents with disabilities. Through a program called Lime Able, a fleet of adaptive vehicles will be free for reservation to eligible residents that need them.
Along with a focus on equity and safe riding, Lime will emphasize local hiring through a direct partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, Community Advocates, Inc., and the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County.
The purpose of the second program is to narrow down the best way to utilize electric scooters in Milwaukee.
