Lime loses interest in using electric scooters at SF – TechCrunch

Lime, Similar to his competitors Spin and JUMP, we just learned that if his call to run electric scooters in Phase 1 of the San Francisco pilot program was rejected, he might be able to use scooters during the phase two. This follows from the decision of James Doyle, neutral hearing officer of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, regarding Ford, Spin, Uber, JUMP and now, Lime, the appeal of the licensing process.

Currently, Skip and Scoot are the only two companies licensed to operate shared electric scooter services in the city. After the first six months of the program, in April, the SFMTA can potentially increase the number of scooters from 625 to 2,500 currently. According to Mr. Doyle, this situation should be able to accommodate the addition of other operators.

"As an experienced and qualified supplier, I would expect Lime's entry into the city's pilot program not only to result in an increase in services on our streets, but to allow the city to expand." Other skilled operators to participate in the pilot program can only increase the likelihood of a potential success of the motorized scooter sharing program in San Francisco, "writes Doyle in his decision.

In the future, it is unclear if the SFMTA will follow the recommendation, but Jose has already told TechCrunch: "The SFMTA will consult with the city attorney's office to determine the next steps towards the second half of the year. pilot project."

In a statement to TechCrunch, Lime said he appreciated the hearing officer's recommendation to consider that Lime was supposed to use his shared electric scooters during the second phase of the program. A spokesman for Lime also said he appreciated Doyle's rating that Lime has the expertise and operational capacity to meet SFMTA's requirements.

"We could not agree more," said Lime's spokesman. "Lime is looking forward to continuing our work with SFMTA and expanding the consumer choice and quality of the scooter sharing program in Lime's hometown."

Lime has been one of the most virulent businesses following SFMTA's decision on electric scooters. When, in October, SFMTA chose Skip and Scoot as the only two electric scooter companies licensed to operate in the city, competitor Lime initiated legal proceedings to try to prevent the deployment of Skip and Scoot. A San Francisco judge quickly dismissed Lime's application for a temporary restraining order. Then, in December, Lime organized a demonstration on the steps of SF City Hall to challenge this decision.

In her appeal, Lime argued that the SFMTA had a bias against her, as well as Spin and Bird, for deploying her scooters without express authorization in March. In Doyle's decision, he said, although the "cases evoked by Lime may establish a possible bias on the part of the SFMTA," there was no credible evidence that the SFMTA was biased against Lime.

"My review of Lime's application proposals, compared to Scoot and Skip, confirms my view that an unbiased evaluation of Lime's written descriptions in applying the planned deployment of his scooter was done by the SFMTA scorers. , " he said.