Raleigh partners with scooter companies to bring new e-bikes to city streets
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh adds 200 dockless e-bikes through new partnerships with Spin and Lime.
- The city plans to decommission Cardinal Bikeshare and remove all docked stations.
- Raleigh will evaluate pilot data before expanding micromobility options in 2026.
Raleigh is putting over 200 bikes on the city’s streets this summer as part of a new dockless bikeshare program, working with “micro-mobility” companies best known for their scooters.
The new electric-assisted bikes, with a motor that engages when people pedal, will hit the streets Aug. 18. Raleigh is working with Spin and Lime, and the pilot will run through April 2026.
“This is an opportunity to build on the success of the micro-mobility program, expand access and flexibility to the bikeshare system, and measure if this new model has an impact on bikeshare usage in the city,” said Kenneth Ritchie, Raleigh’s assistant transportation director.
This new 24/7 system is dockless, meaning the bikes won’t have racks where they can be parked and locked. They will have designated parking areas called corrals, using geofencing near current popular bikeshare spots, to keep the bikes from clogging downtown’s streets.
“Streamlining where people can find these devices is definitely a benefit,” said Barbara Godwin, the city’s bike and pedestrian program manager.. “It’s our goal to make using these different options for transportation easier for residents and visitors.”
Raleigh will begin removing its docked bikeshare stations in mid-August.
Raleigh launched its docked bikeshare program in 2019, originally as Citrix Cycle before rebranding as Cardinal Bikeshare in 2022. In 2023, The News & Observer reported the system had 340 bikes docked at more than 30 stations mostly inside the Beltline after changing contractors.
Cardinal Bikeshare’s most popular stations are near the N.C. Museum of Art and its park, on Fayetteville Street and in Glenwood South.
This dockless bike partnership with Spin and Lime is a one-year pilot. Raleigh also will speak with micromobility companies in early 2026 on ways to expand the city’s scooter and bike program.
“The data we have is showing that more people are riding the e-scooters than are using the Cardinal bikeshare right now, a substantially higher amount of people,” City Council member Jonathan Melton-Lambert said. “And so we also think that providing an e-bike option that is on the same platform and similar to the scooters will probably capture more of that ridership.”
While traveling internationally, Lambert-Melton said he and his husband enjoyed riding scooters and bicycles through the same company and accessed in the same app.
“They have baskets in the front so if you’re shopping or using the e-bike for any sort of trip to replace a car trip, they’re very convenient,” he said. “They’re provided through a third party, so they keep them clean. They’re constantly updating their fleet.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM.
