Lime Prime lets you reserve vehicles for 30 minutes, with no unlock fees

A new Lime Prime subscription is intended to bridge the gap between those who use Lime electric bikes, scooters, or mopeds often enough to justify a Lime Pass, and those who opt for occasional pay-as-you-go usage …

Lime offers app-based access to a range of personal electric vehicles. For casual hire, you pay $1 to unlock the vehicle, then 15 cents per minute. If you’re a regular user, you can opt instead for a Lime Pass. These cost $16.99/month for up to five 30-minute rides a day, or $29.99/month to double the number of daily rides to 10.

Lime Prime adds an in-between option. Paying $5.99/month dispenses with the unlock fee, so makes riding more affordable for those who tend to make a number of short journeys in the course of a month.

Even better, you can use Lime Prime to reserve a vehicle up to half an hour in advance. One of the biggest frustrations of the Lime app is it shows you the locations of your nearest Lime vehicle, but if it takes you more than 10 minutes to reach it, it may have been taken by the time you get there. Lime Prime lets you reserve a vehicle for 30 minutes.

If you’ve never had a Lime Pass, you can get your first month of Lime Prime free of charge. Tap the head icon in the app to see whether it is available in your country.

The company says it is launching the scheme to encourage the use of environmentally friendly transport as people begin the return to commuting as the pandemic eases.

“At Lime, our mission is to provide a reliable, affordable, carbon-free transportation network that allows riders to replace car travel for short trips, and Lime Prime is a key step towards that goal.” said Lime President Joe Kraus. “We want to reward riders that have made the switch to Lime with added convenience and a lower cost. It’s all part of our effort to help cities and their residents Spring Back with Lime and get moving again in ways that are safe and sustainable, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to lift and people begin to rediscover everything that makes cities great.”

Lime Prime further enables riders to make emissions-free commuting part of their daily lives, contributing to the ongoing fight against climate change. Driven by the most active riders, Lime customers have avoided over 50 million car trips, preventing the equivalent of a bumper to bumper traffic jam wrapping more than 7 times around the Earth.

Unfortunately, the cost of Lime Prime is significantly higher in some markets: In the UK, for example, it costs £8.99 ($12.76) per month – more than double the US cost.

Earlier in the year, Lime began using App Clips for a faster experience for first-time users.