You have to give it to Lime, they really go for the whole fruit thing. Case in point: The shared scooter company is testing a new electric motorcycle in Long Beach, Calif., called, wait, Citra. It’s the latest light electric vehicle to join the company’s fleet, which has branched out beyond the electric scooters that have defined Lime for the past five years. The Citra motorcycle, which has a large padded seat and can reach a top speed of 20mph, is designed and built in-house by Lime’s existing manufacturing partners. And the company hopes that with rising gas prices, customers will flock to a new vehicle that can help replace some of their car journeys.
The news comes after Lime quietly eliminated its moped-sharing program in New York City and Washington, DC. The mopeds, which were first introduced in January 2021, had a top speed of 30mph and were designed for street riding. Lime said he wants to focus on low-speed vehicles that can ride in the bike lane. Lime plans to launch the new “scale” bike in Long Beach. The company plans to start with “several hundred” and could ultimately reach 500 vehicles if ridership is strong, spokesman Russell Murphy told The Verge. The company has no plans to roll out the vehicle in any other markets at this time. “Our fleet size will be variable as we grow and will scale with demand,” Murphy said. “We anticipate having several hundred Citras available this summer, reaching a maximum of 500 if we see the large number of passengers we expect.” The bikes are meant to lend credence to Lime’s claims of being more than just a scooter company. The company sees itself as a “platform” for different types of low-speed electric mobility, including Wheels’ electric bikes without pedals and a new generation of shared electric bikes. “Citra is the latest example of our relentless pursuit of innovation” “Citra is the latest example of our relentless pursuit of innovation, whose goal is to help cyclists get around cities in a safe, affordable and emission-free way” said Joe Kraus, president of Lime. in a sentence. The rear hub motor generates a rated power of 750W, with a maximum power rating of 1200W. It has a maximum payload weight of 330lbs and can travel up to 30 miles on a single charge. The batteries, which boast 1kWh of energy capacity, up from the current 0.46kWh, are replaceable and interchangeable with the company’s fleet of electric scooters and electric bicycles. This will improve the customer experience by making it less likely that they will encounter vehicles with dead batteries. And it will help Lime save money on maintenance and parts.
