TAMPA, Fla. — Electric bicycles are powered up and ready to ride in St. Petersburg.

What You Need To Know

  •  300 Lime Bikes are stationed throughout St. Petersburg

  •  Business owners says e-bikes help increase foot traffic

  •  Lime Bikes are in 250 cities worlwide including Tampa and Orlando

Lime, an electric bicycle and scooter company under Uber, has stationed 300 of its motorized bikes throughout the city. It’s part of a new bike program the city council signed a three-year deal with Lime Bike to not only help reduce the number of cars on the streets, but also offer another form of useful and affordable transportation.

For Justin Holmes, his personal e-bike is his way of getting around town.

“This is a front-loading cargo bike with a full suspension,” Holmes said, “so it’s kind of like a bobsled when it needs to be and it’s an effective grocery getter.” 

Haley Martz has an e-bike and scooter station right in from of her business, Old Key West Bar & Grill on Central Avenue. She says it’s already impacted her business.

“Since they put the scooters out it’s a lot easier,” she said, “People don’t have to look for parking and then once they out the Lime Bikes in, it was like, on the weekend you can’t even get them here anymore. Like half the time they’re gone from our location right here.”

Holmes says the bikes are also bringing a lot more ideas to lighten how to get around town.

“The advent of the lithium battery has activated a lot of people’s imagination and everybody sees something different,” he said, “Some people see, I want to make a car out of it. Some people see, I want to make a scooter out of it. Some people see I want to make something that can be a real lifestyle vehicle. Anything we can do to give people an option to get fewer cars on Central Avenue, fewer cars on our thoroughfares I think is a great option.”

Lime Bike has partnered with 250 cities worldwide including Tampa and Orlando.