While ridership in car-hailing services like Uber and Lyft is down amid the coronavirus pandemic, people are transitioning to potentially safer modes of transportation, according to Wayne Ting, CEO of Lime, the e-bike and e-scooter sharing company.
"Since the end of the shelter-in-place, we relaunched in 80 markets around the world, 20 countries, four continents and we're seeing a huge surge in ridership all around the world," Ting told Cheddar.
With people across the globe avoiding closed and poorly ventilated places, such as the inside of rideshares and subways, Lime has become an obvious alternative to traveling outside of the home or office.
"Scooters are single passenger open-air modes of transportation. It allows you to get where you need to go and it's affordable and sustainable as a significantly lower greenhouse gas footprint than driving a car, for example," he said.
Typically, transportation alternatives like Lime tend to be offered in downtown areas or financial districts, inadvertently cutting off communities in need of more travel options, but according to Ting, the company is closing the gap to make availability more widespread and affordable.
"We've introduced products like Lime Pass, which are a daily pass, weekly pass, or monthly pass that allows you to get a discount on the trip by buying a pass," he explained. "We've also partnered with cities to offer discounts to low-income communities, people who have challenges accessing transportation — especially in this era where people want to be socially distancing."
Lime's commitment to improving local communities even goes beyond making their product more accessible, Ting said, as the company looks to give small businesses a boost by providing local places of interest in its app.
As the coronavirus pandemic forces people to reconsider how to go about their daily lives, Lime is trying to position itself as the premiere "affordable and environmentally friendly" option for everyday transportation.
"We certainly hope that as people exit shelter-in-place, as people exit COVID, what they're doing is that they're not taking a look at buying a car, but instead being open to new modes of transportation like e-scooters and e-bikes," Ting said.
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The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
