Lime, the electric scooter-sharing service, plans to terminate its operations in Athens in the wake of poor economic results. According to a report published by Solomon MAG, after pausing its operations in Greece amid COVID-19, Lime announced to employees it is shutting down its services in Athens.
The California-based startup reportedly plans to downsize its business in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, while relaunching in Rethymno, in northern Crete.
According to Solomon MAG, Lime is relaunching in Thessaloniki “with very limited service in the next few days,” and is considering relaunching in Rethymno “in the next few weeks, but we haven’t come to a decision there yet.”
The positioning of Athens – Greece’s capital with a population five times greater than Thessaloniki’s and 150 times the population of Rethymno – comes as third in respect to the company’s plans for continuing its operation.
The decisions, which have not been officially confirmed by Lime, were announced to company employees earlier this week, the report said.
The company has “decided to discontinue operation in Athens,” the MAG notes, citing sources.
The positioning of Athens – Greece’s capital with a population five times greater than Thessaloniki’s and 150 times the population of Rethymno – as third in respect to the company’s plans for continuing its operation, should come with no surprise.
The decisions, which have not been officially confirmed by Lime, were announced to company employees earlier this week, the report said.
Athens, where the company began offering services in January 2019, one month after the launch of its presence in Thessaloniki, “never really generated that much money” according to sources within the company that spoke on condition of anonymity to Solomon MAG.
Even before the pandemic, Athens was not performing “as well as we wanted in terms of business,” Solomon MAG notes.
Shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic have reportedly decimated the company’s profits.
Good as they are dangerous for not only the pedestrian but also the scooter users – plus the scooter users do not have 3rd part insurance laibility