Seattle now has the most shared electric bikes in the nation

Bikeshare company LimeBike has launched more than 500 stationless electric bikes in Seattle, making it the city with the most electrified rides in the nation.

RELATED: Bikeshare companies expanding into Bellevue

LimeBike expanded its brand of bikeshare into 45 markets since launching in the summer of 2017. It was part of the stationless bikeshare pilot in Seattle that is still going (three such companies are currently operating in town). The company’s electric bikes — the Lime-E model — is debuting in Seattle before any other city.

Electric bikes

The electric-assisted bike operates the same as LimeBike’s people-powered models — customers unlock a bike with their smart phone and pay for time to ride. The electric bikes come with a different price, however. It costs $1 to unlock, and then 10 cents for every minute of use after that (students and faculty in Seattle get half off the price).

The electric bikes can go 14.5 mph and have a 62 mile range per charge. The company has stated the bikes can easily handle a 30-degree hill.

LimeBike also has plans to launch its Lime-E model in Miami, Scottsdale, Southern California, and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Another bikeshare company, Spin, is also expected to launch its own electric  bikes, but it is unclear when, or if, it will bring them to Seattle. The company has mentioned plans to first launch them in Miami, University of California San Diego, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Spin promotes that its electric bikes can travel up to 50 miles on a charge. According to TechCrunch, Spin’s operations teams will travel around and swap out the batteries.

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