Lime scooters lasted three days in Memphis

Crews were removing Lime scooters from the streets of Memphis on Monday afternoon, just days after the company brought the vehicles to the city without permits.

Lime issued a statement Monday that said company representatives were “looking forward” to meeting with Memphis city officials this week to “seek a mutually beneficial solution” on a scooter program.

“In the meantime, as a show of good faith, we will be removing our scooters from the streets of Memphis within the next 24 to 48 hours,” Lime Director of Government Relations Sam Sadle said in a statement.

But the city was already in the process of removing the scooters as of about 2 p.m., spokesman Dan Springer said.

The scooters are being stored in a city-owned facility.

“A new scooter company started operating here today without obtaining a permit or entering into an operating agreement. Our ordinance requires these approvals, which the company had previously been told,” a Friday tweet from the official city of Memphis’ account said. “We have served notice to the company that it must remove its scooters. If it does not comply, we are prepared to move them.”

Bird electric scooters have been operating in Memphis for months, and the city has an interim operating agreement with that company that requires Bird to pay $1 per day per scooter. City officials are drafting shared mobility regulations that will govern bike and scooter sharing in Memphis.

The Lime scooter situation in Memphis is playing out similarly to Bird scooters’ debut in Nashville. The company agreed to suspend its operations there in June until city rules were put in place regulating the use of the scooters. Both motorized scooter companies are now operating in Nashville, under a new slate of rules.

In a letter addressed to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, City Council members and other city staff, Sadle said Lime wants to discuss “how best to obtain a permit” under the city’s ordinance. The company has been seeking permission to operate since December, Sadle wrote.

“For reasons that seemingly have no connection to Lime, we remain unable to join the program for an undetermined duration of time,” Sadle wrote.

Jamie Munks covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at 901-529-2536, jamie.munks@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @journo_jamie_.