Lime, the electric scooter and e-bike rental company, said it banned all users who rode scooters on the highway during a “takeover” earlier this month.
Kelly Harrop, senior regional lead of government relations at Lime, also said the company planned to take action before, during, and after a third takeover that took place Friday.
“We understand that Minneapolis residents love to get around on two wheels and we support friends riding together when everyone obeys the rules of the road,” she said. However, Harrop said the company planned to “remind riders of the need to ride safely and obey the rules of the road or risk being warned, fined, or banned from our platform.”
Harrop’s response followed two takeovers on Aug. 7 and 8 in which hundreds of scooter riders gathered in downtown Minneapolis and rode through the streets, with an estimated 200-300 riders entering I-35W during one of the events. According to previous reporting, no arrests were made and no citations were issued.
Harrop said Lime reviewed rider activity following the event and took action against the riders who took to the highways, violating the company’s User Agreement.
“In response to the last similar event that resulted in rider behavior by some that violated Lime’s User Agreement, we banned everyone who rode on highways, and warned others that were deemed to violate our terms of service,” she said.
Ahead of the latest takeover, Lime said it would be closely monitoring the situation and issue respective fines and bans to riders who engage in “irresponsible riding behavior.” Alpha News reached out to Lime after Friday’s takeover to see if it resulted in any additional actions taken but did not receive a response.
The company said it planned to implement “some technical solutions to establish slow zones and no-ride zones in select areas.” This appeared to be confirmed by Johan Vargas, one of the promoters of the takeovers, who posted a map on TikTok last week and said Lime “blocked off pretty much everything besides all the way in downtown.”
“It’s still happening. If they block up all the scooters, pull up in skateboards, rollerblades, bike, or just walk,” he said on TikTok. “This is the last one. Maybe I’ll do one in two months, in a month, or maybe next year.”
Harrop said Lime’s enforcement measures are intended to encourage safety and respectful use of its scooters by Minneapolis residents.
“We are grateful to the tens of thousands of Minneapolis residents who ride Lime safely and responsibly on a regular basis and we want to remind those involved with these takeovers that breaking the rules negatively impacts everyone who relies on shared vehicles to get around,” Harrop said.
Rachael Van Rossum
Rachael Van Rossum is a journalist and author who studies political science in the Twin Cities. She previously interned with the Illinois House of Representatives and recently published her debut fantasy novel "The Hellburner of Sovi." Rachael is passionate about telling compelling stories and bringing to life the voices of political figures, athletes, and members of her community through engaging writing. She is the Alpha News journalism fellow for the summer of 2026.
