The scooter and mobility company Lime Thursday announced Los Angeles will be one of the cities in which it will debut an effort to have 1 million of its riders become advocates for safer streets and more sustainable cities.
The effort is called “Lime Action,” and through direct engagement and an online platform, the company will connect riders to advocacy organizations focused on safer streets for active transportation, racial and social justice, and environmental sustainability.
“As people around the world are taking action to support racial justice, safer streets and cleaner air, we are excited to provide a platform for our millions of riders to turn their passion into action,” said Katie Stevens, head of global policy at Lime.
“Lime Action connects our riders with local grassroots organizations making meaningful change in their communities. We’re proud to help riders strengthen their hometowns by getting involved in efforts to create safer, calmer streets, reduce congestion and harmful emissions from car traffic, and fight systemic racism and injustice.”
The Lime Action partners and organizations will enable riders to engage on issues that range from those directly affecting their rides to making transportation and cities as a whole more equitable.
In its safer streets proposal, Lime said its riders often encounter bike lanes for the first time on a scooter, and they quickly discover how street space issues between cars and other modes of transportation can affect their safety.
Lime Action will provide a way to translate this awareness into action to support campaigns for safer street infrastructure, including bike lanes, greenways and cycle tracks.
The company said Lime Action will work with local organizations that support reentry for formerly incarcerated people, addressing institutional racism, providing career training and meaningful employment and increasing opportunities for underprivileged youth.
The COVID-19 crisis has shown the impact car travel has on local air quality, with major improvements to clean air in cities when car use is minimized, Lime said, but these reductions are already being erased as cities begin to recover.
Lime Action has built partnerships with organizations and campaigns in more than a dozen U.S. cities to start and will expand globally to more cities and organizations throughout the year, the company said. The initiative kicks off in partnership with The Los Angeles County Bike Coalition and various others across the nation.
“Now more than ever, we’re seeing the need for healthy, equitable and safe transportation options for our essential workers along with the most vulnerable members in our community. We’re going to need everyone from the public, private and nonprofit sectors working together to develop sustainable mobility solutions that will make our region more resilient now and in the future,” said Eli Akira Kaufman, executive director of The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
To date, Lime said it has engaged more than 100,000 riders through campaigns aimed at support for scooter-sharing and transportation equity and raised more than $170,000 through Lime Hero, which enables riders to round up the cost of their ride to support local community organizations.
More information can be found at www.li.me.