A new mode of transportation rolled into town last Friday: Lime E-bikes and scooters. The new green vehicles are dispersed around Tacoma for use by Tacoma and Ruston residents.

Representatives from Lime, headquartered in San Francisco, and city council members attended a launch on Friday in Fireman’s Park in honor of Park(ing) Day in Tacoma. They then placed 250 electric scooters and 100 e-bikes throughout Tacoma, primarily in Point Ruston and Downtown Tacoma.

The E-Scooters are powered solely by a battery and the E-bikes are assisted by the battery but still require that you pedal. When you go on the app, you can see the battery life of the scooters and bikes around you. A full battery can last you up to 50+ miles of riding and can take you up to 14.8 mph depending on how fast you pedal on a bike. The full scooter battery lasts up to 20+ miles and can take you up to 14.8 mph as well. Tacoma’s law on a electric bikes and scooters caps the speed at 15 mph. The batteries are also “splash-proof,” meaning they are resistant to rain and snow.

A limitation of the Lime bikes and scooters is the issue of helmets. Lime has multiple reminders throughout their website with your city’s regulations on helmets. Tacoma and Ruston both have laws that require you wear a helmet on both the bikes and the scooters. This poses a problem for many people who don’t just naturally carry a helmet with them wherever they go. According to bicycles.org, only 51% of people wear a helmet while riding a bike in the US.

Lime has specific regulations on who may or may not ride their bikes and scooters. Firstly, you must be 18 or older to ride a Lime Scooter or Bike by yourself. If you are 16 or 17, you may ride an E-bike with parent permission, but the scooters are still off limits and you have to have a driver’s license to ride the scooters as well. Although these rules have been put in place, there is no way for Lime to track what the ages are of the people who use their bikes, because all you need is a phone and debit or credit card.

To start riding the bikes you must:

1. Download the LimeBike app.
2. Search the map for scooters and bikes near you.
3. Locate the bike and use the QR code scanner in the Lime app to scan the ride.
4. Pay by entering in your debit or credit card information into the app. It costs $1 down and $0.15/per minute you ride.
5. The bike or scooter will unlock and you can start riding!

Once you are done:

1. Move the bike or scooter to a space where it will not block a path or road.
2. Put the kickstand down and manually put the lever down on the back of the E-bike or click “end ride” on the app for the scooter
3. The bike or scooter will notify the app that you have completed your ride, and the app will show you your final price.

You can report bikes improperly parked on sidewalks or streets on the Lime app, via email at: [email protected], by phone at 888-LIME-345 or by text to 1-888-546-3345.