Micromobility Firm Lime Debuts in Qatar

The micromobility company Lime has launched its electric bikes and scooters in Qatar.

The company said in a press release on Wednesday (Jan. 18) that its Gen4 bikes and scooters would be available to users of its app in Doha starting this week.

“We are delighted to launch in Doha,” Mohamed Abouhussein, regional general manager for Middle East and Africa at Lime, said. “Transportation systems all over the world are encouraging more people out of cars and onto sustainable options as a key way to tackle the climate crisis and reduce congestion.”

Doha is the latest Middle Eastern city the micromobility platform has expanded to, following previous launches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

In Wednesday’s release, the company said the launch is part of its “commitment to growing its services in the Middle East region more broadly.”

Lime is the latest company to launch free-floating bikes and scooters in Doha, where similar propositions from Tier and Bird are also available.

With competition in the Middle Eastern micromobility market heating up, Tier is leading the field in terms of locations covered. The platform is already available in seven cities across the region, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh and Jeddah.

On top of the presence of international players, local micromobility startups have also popped up in the region, such as Dubai’s Fenix as well as Hop-On, Dabeeb and Gazal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

While micromobility companies may be on the march in the Middle East, European cities like Paris have introduced tougher rules for eScooters in a bid to improve safety.

Following threats from city officials to not renew operating licenses this year due a lack of adequate safety measures in the city, eScooter operators Lime, Dott and Tier announced upgrades to their safety requirements. These measures include requiring users to scan their IDs to verify their ages and the installation of license plates on the vehicles for more accountability.

The pay-as-you-ride scooters have proven divisive enough that the city is set to vote on whether it should ban them outright in April, the Guardian reported.

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