City of St. Petersburg launches new electric bike share system in partnership with Lime

If you’re in downtown St. Petersburg, you may notice a new fleet of bright green electric bikes neatly corralled throughout the city. That's because the City of St. Petersburg recently partnered with Lime to deploy 260 new shared e-bikes throughout the city.

The cost to use the electric bikes is similar to downtown's existing electric scooters. The bikes cost $1 to unlock and $0.39 per minute, which is Lime's lowest rate in Florida.

New riders can use promo code ‘GOGREEN23’ for savings on their first ride.

THE INITIAL HUB LOCATIONS ARE IDENTIFIED HERE WITH MORE HUBS TO BE IDENTIFIED | CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG

Lime has deployed their Gen 4 E-Bike which includes several features such as an adjustable seat, integrated smart lock, 350-watt motor with 2-speed transmission, a 25-mile lithium-ion battery, cell phone holder, and a front basket.

The bikes are capped at a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour, which is the same speed as downtown's electric scooters.

"Getting around Downtown St. Petersburg should be safe, affordable, easy, and convenient for our residents and visitors," said St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "Lime's Gen4 e-bikes are smooth, eco-friendly, and comfortable. We're pleased to add this amenity as another green complement to the other modes of transit enjoyed by our residents and visitors like walking, e-scooters, the Downtown Looper and Central Avenue Trolley, and the SunRunner."

The Lime electric bike share program is replacing St. Pete's previous bike share system which was introduced in 2016 and was operated by Coast. The previous program saw great success in its early years, but its popularity began to wane with the introduction of electric scooters to downtown St. Pete in late 2020.

The city recognized the shift in micro-mobility preferences and began exploring options to replace the aging Coast bike share fleet with electric bikes.

The shared bikes will be stationed in HUBS around the greater downtown st. pete area | ST. PETE RISING

Veo Ride and Lime submitted proposals to operate the new electric bike share system, with Lime's proposal being preferred by the evaluation committee due to the company's experience and having no cost to the city.

The city also preferred Lime's submission because of its proposal to use Class 1 electric bikes whereas Veo opted to use Class 2 electric bikes that operate without pedal-assist, more like an electric scooter.

Under the agreement with Lime, which was approved by City Council in March, the initial program term will be for three years, with two three years renewal options. Lime also has the option to add 240 more electric bikes to downtown, if demand warrants, for a total of 500 electric bikes.

The electric bikes will be initially deployed in the greater downtown area; but the city is actively looking for additional corral locations further west along the Central Avenue corridor.

For more info on downtown St. Pete's new electric bikes, download the Lime app. As a reminder, new riders can use promo code ‘GOGREEN23’ for 10 minutes free on their first ride!