SOUTH BEND — South Bend’s fleet of LimeBikes is expected to more than double by the end of the year, thanks to a fresh injection of $50 million in investment Monday for the fledgling bike-share business.
California-based LimeBike began operating in the South Bend area in July, and now has more than 800 bikes in its only pilot market in the Midwest. The lime-green bikes can also be found in 10 other U.S. cities, including Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Dallas.
The new influx of funds is expected to help the company expand into additional markets and increase the number of bikes in cities that already have LimeBike, including South Bend.
LimeBike spokesperson Mary Caroline Pruitt said more bikes are on the way, and that the tally in the South Bend area will exceed 2,000 bikes by the end of the year. Pruitt said no bikes will be removed from South Bend’s streets during the winter months.
“Part of the funding will be used towards expanding our services locally,” Pruitt said. “We will begin adding more bikes to city streets over the next few weeks.”
In an online letter, LimeBike CEO Toby Sun said the groundswell of financial backing can also help the bike-share business break into new markets.
“This is an important milestone for all of us,” Sun wrote. “Not only does it allow LimeBike to advance our goal of operating in over 30 cities and colleges by 2018, but it solidifies our role as the leader in U.S. dockless bike sharing technology.”