---
title: A scooter company is… profitable?
description: Lime had its best year, while Bird cratered.
---

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# [A scooter company is… profitable?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/02222023-lime-profitable)

 Written by [Mark Dent](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/mark-dent) | Apr 11, 2023 5:29:32 AM

Even by the fail-fast, break-things standards of Silicon Valley, Lime’s prospects for long-term success appeared outrageous.

- Founded in 2017, the company littered cities with expensive but flimsy rental bikes and scooters in hopes it might gain market share over competitors like Bird, all the while [alienating local governments](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/electric-scooter-bans-world/index.html) and [harming pedestrians.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/03/12/scooters-are-littering-sidewalks-injuring-pedestrians-can-this-startup-bring-order-chaos/)
- In 2020, consumer scooter spending [fell by ~100%](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/11/business/economy/coronavirus-us-economy-spending.html) amid the pandemic. People were not even renting scooters to [throw them into rivers](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/28/scooters-california-oakland-los-angeles-bird-lime) or set them on fire anymore.

Now, the scooter company — or, as Lime likes to be known, “micromobility company” — claims it had its first profitable year in 2022, [according to *TechCrunch*. ](https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/21/lime-reports-first-profitable-year-tests-the-waters-for-ipo/)

#### **Seriously, how did this happen?**

We know. It’s wild. But Lime has found success improving its unit economics (i.e., making more money off every single e-bike and scooter).

The key is [the battery](https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/12/lime-new-e-bike-swappable-battery-works-with-scooters/). Last year, the company rolled out its Gen4 e-bike, which uses a swappable battery that can be replaced without having to take the bike off the street — reducing operational costs and increasing their availability to users. Lime’s scooters use the same battery.

As of last year, Lime had [~5m active users](https://thehustle.co/06012022-scooters/) across [~200 cities. ](https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/lime-the-scooter-rental-company-people-love-to-hate-is-navigating-a-rocky-road-to-an-ipo/)

CEO Wayne Ting told *TechCrunch* the company will seek to IPO in the near future.

#### **Meanwhile…**

E-scooter competitor Bird, which recently [merged ](https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/12/21/merger-with-bird-canada-to-inject-new-blood-and-capital-into-e-scooter-rental-company-bird-global.html)with a Canadian licensee, is struggling. The company [admitted](https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/14/bird-tells-sec-it-overstated-revenue-for-two-years/) to overstating earnings from 2020 to 2022. Unlike Lime, Bird has outsourced the development of its equipment.

Since going public through a SPAC in 2021, Bird’s stock has fallen from a peak of $8.40 to ~$0.20.

Things have gotten so grim for Bird that the company[ is seeking](https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-requesting-lost-funds-from-customers-worth-just-cents-2022-12) unpaid funds from past customers who owe less than $1.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/02222023-lime-profitable)

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