E-Scooter Startup Lime Shuts In 12 Markets, Lays Off Around 100 (axios.com) 49
Scooter company Lime is laying off about 14% of its workforce (roughly 100 employees) and shuttering operations in 12 markets as it seeks to become profitable this year, the company tells Axios. From the report: After two years of explosive growth, scooter companies have entered a new phase -- survival of the fittest in a capital-intensive, money-losing industry. "We're very confident that in 2020, Lime will be the first next-generation mobility company to be profitable," Lime president Joe Kraus tells Axios. He said that projection is based in part on improvements to Lime scooters' longevity, which in 2019 went from from six months to about 14 months.
Lime is ending operations in 12 markets where it says business was underperforming. In the US: Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio. In Latin America: Bogota, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, Puerto Vallarta, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In Europe: Linz (Austria). Kraus also refuted rumors that Lime is actively raising a new round of funding despite months of ongoing rumors that the company was running out of cash and looking for a fresh infusion. Kraus added that the company is not looking to sell but could be interested in being on the other side of the M&A table. "We always look opportunistically in being a buyer," he said.
Lime is ending operations in 12 markets where it says business was underperforming. In the US: Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio. In Latin America: Bogota, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, Puerto Vallarta, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In Europe: Linz (Austria). Kraus also refuted rumors that Lime is actively raising a new round of funding despite months of ongoing rumors that the company was running out of cash and looking for a fresh infusion. Kraus added that the company is not looking to sell but could be interested in being on the other side of the M&A table. "We always look opportunistically in being a buyer," he said.
Re:but but but but (Score:5, Insightful)
Lime is ending operations in 12 markets where it says business was underperforming. In the US: Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio.
Atlanta - population 486,000
Phoenix - population 1.62 million
San Diego - population 1.42 million
San Antonio -population 1.49 million
Those are big cities with nice weather and a lot of people. If they can't make it there, where exactly do they think they can be successful?
The REAL problem is they're trying to run a business based on a stupid and unworkable idea.
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That is not common in the cities that support and grow the services as expected?
Stay in cities/nations that have the "common" part that allows the service to grow.
Avoid areas of the USA with the common part that is seeing no growth, costs.
Any dramatic changes to a city?
Crime? Trash blocking streets? Waste in streets? Politics? Poverty?
Lack of money per week on average to spend on one more "service"?
Wonder what that common part could be?
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Strangely enough Montreal Canada, which has crappy weather half the year didn't get cut.
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From September 2019 Atlanta Journal about obesity: State’s rate reached 32.5% last year, up from 31.6% in 2017 [ajc.com]
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Georgia Law: [georgiabikes.org]
40-6-144
Except as provided by resolution or ordinance of a local government for sidewalks within the jurisdiction of such local government authorizing the operation of bicycles on sidewalks by persons 12 years of age or younger, no person shall drive any vehicle upon a sidewalk or sidewalk area except upon a permanent or duly authorized driveway.
Nobody older than 12 is going to ride one of these e-scooters on Atlanta city streets.
Impound fees in Atlanta (Score:2)
Park in stupid places, win stupid prizes:
https://www.ajc.com/news/local... [ajc.com]
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San Antonio is a hugely sprawled out city that's completely car oriented, with no culture of biking or walking. When you see someone on a bicycle, it's either somebody with no driver license because of a DUI or a medical student from another state who doesn't yet understand that in San Antonio every day it's no open season on bicyclists and SPECIALLY on highly experienced surgeons. I kid you not. There is one spot where famous surgeons were mowed down by automobiles twice within maybe three years. Everybody
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I guess you could say... (Score:4, Funny)
Lime is a lemon.
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Lime is such a lemon that a lemon is a type of lime.
Funny... (Score:1)
The name game (Score:2)
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The layoff criterion was rather unique (Score:2)
Lime had its employees all stand outside in local public places. It then laid off all the employees who passersby grabbed and threw into bodies of water.
BS spin to cover up for Bad Signaling (Score:3)
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They are in panic mode, nobody is buying into the unicorns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]. Fabrications of hedge funds to sell to mug punters and corrupt pension funds (paid commissions to buy crap shares). Chances of them making it to the bug unicorn IPO scam probably none.
failed business model (Score:3)
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So, you're saying that we should collect our free batteries and dc motors now?
Can't wait for that dangerous trash to vanish (Score:2)
These things are seriously dangerous, not only to the riders. Apparently, they also have zero environmental advantages.
Re:Can't wait for that dangerous trash to vanish (Score:4, Interesting)
These things are seriously dangerous, not only to the riders. Apparently, they also have zero environmental advantages.
In some regions the vast majority of electricity is from renewable sources. Where I live, 100% of evening and nighttime electricity is renewable, and daytime most of the year.
If they're driven in places where it is safe for a bicycle, then they're not really any more dangerous. Just today a few of them passed me in the park, and it was no different for anybody than a bicycle going past.
Re:Can't wait for that dangerous trash to vanish (Score:4, Insightful)
The environmental problem is these things have very low lifetime. Manufacturing replacements eliminates any potential advantages.
As to safety, if these people stay in bicycle-lanes and on the street, then at least the risk is mostly to them. I already needed to jump aside several times because an e-scooter was driven at high speed on the sidewalk. Cyclists often have not much common sense, but the e-scooter riders have none.
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That's nonsense, my wife has one and there is no reason it would have a "low lifetime." All the parts are replaceable. It isn't like a cell phone that you can't take apart.
If companies are throwing them away instead of fixing them, that isn't the fault of the product category, and it is likely being done to support an image of newness, at considerable costs to the company compared to fixing.
And shut up about sidewalks, you didn't read what I said about it, so don't blather about it in your reply.
Re:Can't wait for that dangerous trash to vanish (Score:4, Informative)
my wife has one and there is no reason it would have a "low lifetime."
Rental stuff of any kind usually has a considerably lower lifetime than the same thing owned privately. Firstly, it gets a lot more use - I bet your wife's scooter is standing still at least 95% of the day. Secondly, owners treat things better than renters. Third, after a bit she knows how to handle it while rentals see first- or second-time users all the time, who still do whatever it is that's not good for the thing.
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Does not surprise me. I had to jump aside 3 times now to avoid being hit by a very fast e-scooter with a moron riding it.
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Learn the clothesline maneuver. Fortunately, I'm big and solid enough that I don't have to deal with the issue.
Uber's old CEO quit the board, too (Score:2)
Uber's old CEO stepped down two years ago, and during this most recent christmas stepped down from the board. It is not a good year for alternative transport companies.
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It's never been a good year for alternative transport companies- Uber is bleeding billions. The business model doesn't work.
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Uber's old CEO stepped down two years ago
He got forcefully ejected, told never to come back, and no one shed any tears but he.
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It is not a good year for alternative transport companies.
It is almost as if the word "alternative" is there for a reason.
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It is not a good year for alternative transport companies.
Except that Uber isn't a transport company, alternative or otherwise. They're an online match-maker or broker. Didn't you hear the loud voices they make every time someone suggests that Uber drivers may have anything at all to do with Uber? You know, when there are questions of responsibility, compliance, employee rights or anything else that's not a positive contribution to the profit margin?
One might be tempted to say that Uber's problem isn't in transportation at all, it's in not actually running a prope
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You do understand most of that is meme defense launched against a disruptive competitor cutting into functional taxi monopolies with their kickbacks to city councils, right?
Christ, in Seoul they banned Uber then handed the business model off to connected locals.
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You do understand most of that is meme defense launched against a disruptive competitor cutting into functional taxi monopolies with their kickbacks to city councils, right?
"disruptive" is not a synonym for "good". A volcano eruption is disruptive as well and you wouldn't want one in your city.
Kickbacks, monopoly or not (that seems to be a mostly-US problem, can't say I've heard any such issues in my country) there are regulations on the taxi business for a reason, many of whom were added after experience taught us that they're needed.
You're basically advocating to start an airline company just without all the pesky regulations and safety inspections because fuck 'me and the m
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alternative transport
That's a funny way to spell "unlicensed taxi".
Lime the "scooter company"? (Score:2)
Isn't that the same as Lime the "bike company"?
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Ya, they started off as a short-term 1-speed and 3-speed non-electric bicycle rental company (aka "Bikeshare"). Then Bird hit the ground with scooters and everyone out there with a dockless bikeshare system saw the parallels and added scooters to their portfolios. Then they saw just how much humans want to NOT MOVE while traveling and many shifted their primary focus to scooters.
Then they got venture capital backing because "everyone's riding these!!" and they promised "We'll get big quick, crush our compet
Anecdata (Score:2)
Lime kicked off in my town (Brisbane, Australia) maybe a year ago and it was quite popular for a few months. I live near a popular walking/cycling path and there were many Limes flitting back and forth; on the weekends it seemed to be a popular family thing to do.
More recently, I still see a lot of scooters - but most of them seem to be personally owned, rather than these short term rentals. I still see quite a few Limes, as well as at least one other operator that launched in the last few months, but it se
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Where I am, it is against the law to ride them on the sidewalk, but they're allowed to use bike lanes and bike paths. So of course there are no rentals.
There seem to be no problems at all with personally-owned scooters here. And they're growing in popularity. So the rentals might not really be responsible, it might just be that it is a new product category, and people are buying it because it is available now.