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US company Lime offers shared e-scooters in Science Park

This article is more than 12 months old

Shared e-scooter company Lime has begun rolling out its personal mobility devices (PMDs) in Singapore through a partnership with property developer Ascendas-Singbridge.

Lime's e-scooters are deployed at Singapore Science Park 1 and 2, the US company said in a statement yesterday.

The Straits Times understands that the devices have been available at the locations for at least the past two weeks.

Valued at US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion), Lime was formed in January last year and operates in more than 125 markets worldwide.

Lime's rival, Bird - also from the US - was valued at US$2 billion earlier this year and operates in more than 100 cities.

Last month, Singapore-based Beam announced that it had raised US$6.4 million to roll out its rental PMDs here.

Checks by ST on Nov 14 found more than 20 of Lime's PMDs ready to be hired at the Ascent building in Science Park Drive.

The devices cost $1 to unlock, and 20 cents for every minute they are used. A four-minute ride costs $1.80.

Lime's Asia-Pacific regional general manager Anthony Fleo declined to say how many e-scooters the company has here or how much it has invested in its Singapore operations.

Mr Fleo confirmed that Lime will apply for the Land Transport Authority's PMD-sharing licence - which will allow it to expand its operations islandwide - once applications open in January.

Though in recent months Lime had recalled some of its scooters in the US over fire safety and breakage concerns, Mr Fleo insisted that these would not be issues with its fleet here as "vulnerable scooters were quickly removed from circulation before Lime came to Singapore".

Transport