LimeBikes, a stationless bike rental service, has pedalled its way to Dallas bringing convenient, carbonless transportation to city life.  

    Launched in June of 2017, the company’s aim was to provide an accessible and affordable way for people to move around their city while eliminating an individual’s carbon footprint. With a planet slowly degrading from global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, this simple idea is a noble advance in saving the planet.

    According to LimeBike.com, LimeBikes are equipped with a heavy duty basket with a solar panel to power the GPS enabled lock. They also have foam core tires so they never go flat, as opposed to regular air filled tires. This is another bonus of the LimeBikes, as it reduces the maintenance needed by regular bikes.The seat is adjustable to fit most people’s height and the frame has been pressure tested to carry people up to 800 pounds.

    All the bikes are electronically tracked. To get a bike, one must download the free app called LimeBike. This app is easy to navigate and is the key to unlocking a bike. Once the rider finds a bike, they have to scan the QR code located on the seat of the bike to unlock it.  There is a Google map on the app that pinpoints all the LimeBikes and the distance, in time and miles, from the rider.

    Through the app, a rider can either pay as they go, paying one dollar every 30 minutes, or paying LimePrime where a rider pays 100 rides for 14 cents a ride.

    LimeBikes are all over the US in states such as California, Florida, Washington, Colorado, North Carolina and Texas, among a few others. They are most prevalent in cities booming with activity like San Diego, Seattle, Dallas and many more where majority of people walk to get to where they need to go.

    There are also bikes in the UK, Europe, Canada and parts of Asia. This makes traveling a great way for tourists to see the foreign city and soak up the culture first hand.  

    LimeBikes can also be seen on college campuses. This is an ingenious idea for college students to have affordable transportation without the commitment of upkeep and maintenance.

    The only downside to the idea of LimeBikes is what made it popular in the first place: the lack of stations. Because there are no designated areas to park LimeBikes, they are consequently strewn about on street corners, parking lots, parks and virtually any place that is convenient for the rider. This leads to the depreciation of those cities because of how trashy they now look.

    This can be strategically solved by simply designating specific areas of cities or college campuses to park LimeBikes. That way they do not have to install stations for the bikes, and it will look less trashy.

    Despite the scenery pollution, having a service that reaches all demographics and saves energy in a dying world is an ingenious idea.