Eight years after first establishing a presence on the streets of Spokane, the micromobility giant Lime is looking to significantly scale its operations. The company, operating under parent firm Neutron Holdings, has approached city officials with a proposal to expand its local fleet and extend its service into the winter months, though the request comes with a plea for lower operating fees and questions regarding previously unfulfilled safety promises.
The proposed Lime scooter expansion in Spokane would see the company’s footprint grow from its current limit of 1,500 vehicles to as many as 2,250 by 2027. As part of this growth strategy, the company also intends to introduce a new hybrid vehicle known as the “Glider”—a device described as a cross between a bicycle and a scooter—and seeks to make its seasonal operations permanent.
While ridership has shown significant momentum, the expansion is not without friction. City officials and local advocates are weighing the benefits of increased mobility against the need for stricter enforcement of sidewalk riding bans and the environmental impact of discarded devices in local waterways.
The Terms of Expansion and Winter Relief
The current contract, which governs Lime’s city-approved monopoly in the area, is slated to expire at the end of 2026. To secure a long-term presence, Lime is asking for a tiered increase in its vehicle cap: moving to 2,000 vehicles this year and reaching 2,250 starting in 2027.
A central component of the new proposal involves winter operations. After piloting year-round service earlier this year, Lime is requesting a concession to help manage the seasonal dip in demand. Currently, Lime pays the city a $17,000 annual fee plus 75 cents per vehicle for every day a device is on city streets. The company is asking to reduce that daily street fee to 33 cents during the winter months, citing significant revenue declines during the colder season.
When asked to provide specific data regarding how much ridership drops during the winter, a Lime spokesperson declined to provide figures, stating only that the adjusted fee would help the company maintain and expand service through the colder months.
| Feature | Current Contract | Proposed Expansion |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Fleet Size | 1,500 vehicles | 2,000 (2024) to 2,250 (2027) |
| Winter Daily Fee | $0.75 per vehicle | $0.33 per vehicle |
| Vehicle Types | Scooters and bikes | Addition of “Glider” hybrids |
Ridership Growth vs. City Revenue
The push for expansion is supported by a sharp upward trend in local usage. Reported trips in Spokane have nearly doubled in recent years, climbing from 370,000 in 2022 to an estimated 674,000 in 2025. However, this surge in activity has not translated into a proportional increase in revenue for the city.
According to city records, revenue generated from Lime rose from $190,000 in 2022 to $225,000 in 2025. While the numbers are growing, the disparity between the massive increase in trips and the relatively modest increase in city revenue remains a point of interest for municipal budget planners.
The financial landscape for the company remains complex. Despite reporting record-breaking revenue of $886.7 million in 2025, Lime reported a loss of $59.3 million during that same period. For local users, the cost of service currently stands at a $1 unlock fee followed by 44 cents per minute of use.
Environmental and Safety Commitments
The relationship between Lime and Spokane has been historically fraught, particularly regarding the environmental impact of the devices. Two years ago, the company’s future in the city was uncertain due to concerns over scooters being abandoned in the Spokane River and clogging sidewalks.
To secure its current contract, Lime committed to removing any devices found in the river within a 24-hour window. Recent reports suggest the company is largely meeting this obligation. Jule Schultz, the cleanup director for the Spokane Riverkeeper, noted in mid-2025 that scooters were being recovered quickly. However, Katelyn Scott, a Water Protector for the organization, noted that there have been instances where the 24-hour removal window was not met.
While there is a fee structure in place for slow removals, city spokeswoman Erin Hut confirmed that the city has not actually issued these fines. Instead, the city has been removing the lingering scooters themselves and passing the resulting costs directly to Lime.
The company has also reported a doubling of its enforcement regarding improper parking. In 2025, Lime issued approximately 1,900 warnings and 62 fines, a significant increase from the 940 warnings and 29 fines recorded in 2024. These fines, which range from a warning to $40 for a fourth violation, are kept by the company, while a fifth violation is intended to trigger a rider lockout.
The Unfulfilled Promise of Sidewalk Safety
Despite improvements in river cleanup and parking enforcement, one major promise remains unfulfilled: the prevention of scooters being ridden on downtown sidewalks, which is currently illegal. While some members of the City Council have expressed interest in expanding sidewalk bans to other areas, the downtown issue remains a primary point of contention.
As early as 2022, Lime suggested it could use technology to detect and discourage sidewalk riding. In 2024, the company told Spokane officials it would work to implement these solutions. Currently, an increasing number of vehicles in Spokane are being equipped with “Lime Vision,” an AI-driven computer vision technology designed to detect sidewalk use and provide audible alerts to riders.
Parker Dawson, Lime’s senior regional lead of government relations, stated that the company is expanding the deployment of this technology to increase coverage, with a specific focus on downtown. However, unlike a similar rollout in Seattle—where the company provided a specific timeline for retrofitting its entire fleet—Lime has not yet provided a definitive timeline for a full implementation in Spokane.
The city’s decision on whether to grant these concessions and allow the fleet to grow will likely depend on how effectively Lime can bridge the gap between its technological promises and the reality of sidewalk safety and urban clutter.
Negotiations regarding the contract extension and the proposed fee reductions are expected to move through city channels in the coming months. We invite you to share your thoughts on micromobility in our city by commenting below or sharing this article.
