Dive Brief:

• Last week, Lime rolled out its bike-share services in the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony as part of a Northern Nevada regional partnership, which includes the City of Reno and the University of Nevada, Reno.
• Lime also launched its services last week on the San Diego Naval Base. "The 1,600-acre base consists of approximately 50 ships and 34,000 military and non-military personnel ... Needless to say, reliable transportation is an important part of daily operations here," Lime wrote in a statement.
• Lime claims the launches mark the first time a dockless bike-share service has been introduced on a Native American territory and on a U.S. military base.

Dive Insight:

May has been a month of growth for Lime, which recently dropped "Bike" from its name to demonstrate its smart mobility services extend beyond just dockless bike-sharing. Lime is now available in more than 60 markets, with new cities — and potentially new services, such as transit pods — on the horizon.

Many city leaders and directors of industry initiatives, such as the North American Bikeshare Association, have applauded Lime's work in bringing bike-share opportunities to communities traditionally underserved by mobility innovations — and it is possible Lime's focus on these markets will spark more attention from competitors. 

Sam Dreiman, Director of Strategic Development at Lime, told Smart Cities Dive in a phone interview the process of selecting a new market to enter can vary by the needs of both the company and of the cities it is looking to serve. Lime seeks markets where there are "a lot of people" and a need for smart mobility solutions, and then does its due diligence to ensure it meets all of the permitting and legal expectations before entering the market. 

This year, legal compliance has become a hot-button issue for ride-sharing and similar services, as a number of cities have become flustered by dockless vehicles unexpectedly cluttering cities' rights of way. Most recently, Lime faced pushback in Honolulu, where the city's police department began seizing dozens of the company's electric scooters just one day after Lime launched its pilot program. Dreiman said the company is still in talks with Honolulu to resolve the city's concerns and ensure compliance is met, but he noted a lack of communication from Honolulu city officials has muddied the process.