Lime teams up with Citymapper to make finding e-bikes easier

Finding a Lime bike in your city just got a little easier.

Lime and Citymapper have partnered up to allow riders to locate Lime e-bikes and scooters within the Citymapper app. 

The integration will roll out across December in 21 cities including London, Manchester, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Austin, Washington DC, St Louis, Sydney, Paris, Lisbon, Brussels, Madrid, Stockholm, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Vienna, and Berlin.

Citymapper users will be able to find Lime's vehicles within the app, but if you want to book them, you'll have to switch over to the Lime app to rent one, then switch back to Citymapper or a navigation app to find the best bike-friendly route to your destination. It's not the most convenient process, but personally, I have a sneaking suspicion Citymapper's navigational accuracy might have something over the Lime app's location services.

There you are... Credit: lime / citymapper

Though it's operated as a popular alternative to Google Maps in London since launching there in 2011, then hitting New York in 2013, Citymapper had a big year in 2020, especially in the U.S. The iOS and Android app has expanded significantly over the last few months, launching navigation support for 17 more cities across America in September — this brings the total to 68 cities across the world.

This year has also marked big moves for Lime, especially in Europe, since Lime bought Uber's Jump there in June — Jump's bright red bikes are currently being relaunched under the Lime fleet in London, and yes, these Jump bikes will be findable in the Citymapper app too (along with Santander and Beryl bikes, which already show up in the app).

If you're a Londoner who commutes a lot, it's also worth noting that Citymapper has added Lime to its unlimited travel pass.

E-bikes and scooters are being pushed by city governments like London's as an additional form of public transport amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and companies like Jump said they've increased the frequent cleaning of their vehicles.

"Micro-mobility is changing how we get around cities, and COVID-19 has made alternatives like cycles and scooters an even more important part of our urban infrastructure," said Alex Thomas, partnerships lead at Citymapper, in a press statement.

E-bikes are still safe to use during the coronavirus pandemic, as long as you're responsible and smart about it: wash or sanitise your hands before and after riding, wipe down the bike's handlebars if you're able, and don't book if you're feeling symptoms.