Scooter companies Lime and Bird are placing scooters at Capital Metro Bikeshare stations after the latter company suspended its program in June.
A fire damaged the Bikeshare maintenance facility on May 23, causing CapMetro to suspend Bikeshare until further notice, placing a higher need on other forms of alternative transportation, according to the company’s website. Bird has approximately 3,000 scooters in its Austin fleet, while Lime has 3,700 scooters and 180 e-bikes. The city of Austin sets limits on how many vehicles can operate.
Lime confirmed in an email to the Texan that the company has already begun placing scooters at CapMetro Bikeshare stations in West Campus. The company will not place vehicles at the stations on the UT campus because it is not currently authorized to operate there, a spokesperson said. Ridership from May 23 — when the CapMetro fire occurred — to July 5 increased by over 20% when compared to the same time period in 2025, according to a Lime spokesperson.
“Our team in Austin has a great relationship with CapMetro, and we reached out immediately following reports of the pending shutdown,” wrote Lonny Stern, senior regional lead of government relations for Texas at Lime, in a statement. “After weeks of collaborative discussion, we’ve found some key areas where Lime can support our transit partners. We also plan to increase our deployment of Lime vehicles at select CapMetro Bikeshare stations around the city.”
Bird has also seen an uptick in ridership after placing more scooters at the CapMetro station locations, according to a Bird spokesperson. A spokesperson wrote that Bird has set up an automatic 50% discount for any rider who begins a trip at a bikeshare station.
“Our goal here is to ensure Austin residents have transportation options so that shared micromobility continues to grow in ways that support safer streets, improved air quality, and overall livability,” wrote John Lankford, vice president of partnerships at Bird, in a statement.