While the tech and auto industries grapple with the future of cars, a new battle is brewing over the use of a different form of affordable, easy-to-access transportation: Bikes. Toby Sun launched LimeBike in March 2017 and has since expanded it to over 20 markets. The company is now the largest dockless bike-share operator in the U.S., with approximately 10,000 bikes on the streets and 250,000 users.
Sun has raised a total of $62 million from major backers like Coatue Management, GGV Capital, Yuri Milner and A16z, and has a strategic partnership with bike manufacturer FSD.
Other bike programs charge $10 or more per ride and require riders to pick up and drop off bike in a special dock, but LimeBike charges only $1 per half-hour rental and lets its customers park their bikes anywhere when they’re done, ready to be picked up by someone else. The data that LimeBike collects is shared with cities, providing valuable information for transportation infrastructure.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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