CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A brand new form of transportation is coming to Charlotte.
If you’ve been around uptown lately, chances are you’ve seen those bright green Lime Bike bicycles. The easy and inexpensive bikes are available for anyone to rent for a small fee.
Now, the same company is bringing a similar experience to Queen City travelers: electric scooters. Charlotte will be the first North Carolina city to welcome electric scooter sharing starting Tuesday.
“Any time we can add a different mode of transportation for people and give people better accessibility to modes of transportation is a win,” said Charlotte City Councilman Larken Egleston.
The scooters will be available starting at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the South End light rail station. Just like Lime Bike, Lime S costs only $1 to unlock and 15 cents per minute you ride. So far, electric scooter sharing is in two other East Coast cities, Miami and Washington D.C.
There are a few requirements you need to meet in order to rent a scooter from Lime S. First, all riders have to be at least 18 years old, helmets are highly recommended, and you must obey all local traffic laws. The scooters have a top speed of just under 15 mph and can go up to 37 miles on a single charge.
The city hopes this is the next best way to get around without getting behind the wheel.
"If there’s room for as many cars as there are in Charlotte, then there’s certainly room for bikes and scooters,” Egleston said.
In just the last few months, there’s been a 22-percent increase in ridership of Lime Bikes. Charlotte leaders hope those numbers will continue to grow with the addition of Lime S.