Lime To Pull Bikes From Newton

NEWTON, MA — Lime is pulling its bikes out of Greater Boston - and Newton. The company told the Metropolitan Area Planning Council this month it will not renew its contract for the area for 2020. Since the company came to Newton in the fall of 2018 through the end of September 2019, the company logged more than 27,000 rides and appeared to be growing.

The contract in Newton is up in May, the city is looking for another bike option.

The bike-share has been around for more than a year — travelers could find and unlock Lime bikes with their phone. The service came to town as part of an area council that served 15 nearby communities. The dockless bike program also allowed riders to leave bikes along the sidewalk, corners or path as long as the bike didn’t block the way for pedestrians.

The move comes as the company recently announced that it planned to leave several other cities, including Atlanta, Pheonix and San Diego in the U.S. and Bogota, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro in Latin America, laying off 100 employees.

But Lime plans to stick around the Boston area with its e-scooters. A scooter pilot program took place in Brookline last year, and the company is working with Boston on figuring out regulations there.

"Over the past year, Lime has focused on launching and growing our scooter fleets in the US, which have been very popular in cities across the globe. Our recent scooter pilot in Brookline proved that the same excitement exists here," Lime said in a statement.

Any Lime user with remaining funds in their Lime account can use that balance in any other active Lime market, or request a refund through the company's customer support channels.

Related:

Electric Pedal Assist Lime Bikes Come To Newton

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).