Bus or Lime bike? New subscription heats up the race for a cheaper commute

Bus or Lime bike? New subscription heats up the race for a cheaper commuteJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGeorge SandemanIn Pictures/Getty ImagesNew pricing means it might be cheaper to e-cycle or e-scooter than get the bus - but would you?Suited and booted, James is on his 15-minute commute home from work. But he's not on a bus, a train or a tram - he's on an e-scooter."I get to avoid the rush hour and being packed in like a sardine," says the 23-year-old in Salford, Greater Manchester.James is also saving money, something he's keen to do as a recent university graduate. "In terms of raw affordability, £4 on your commute a day is not bad - especially in the cost of living crisis."He's one of a legion of often young people seen zipping around some of Britain's cities on bright green hired e-scooters and e-bikes operated by US company Lime. Other companies, including Forest and Bolt, and other councils run similar schemes.And Lime's latest move appears to be an attempt to help change habits for commuters - not just those already scooting or pedalling for leisure. It launched LimePrime at the end of February - a monthly subscription giving riders in Salford, Nottingham, London, Oxford and Milton Keynes a fixed price for the first 20 minutes of their journey. After that, riders are charged per minute at a discounted rate.While Lime has arguably been perceived by some in the past as relatively expensive, the new subscription appears to try to undercut the cost of single journeys using buses and other forms of public transport.In Salford, the LimePrime costs £1.50 for the first 20 minutes in return for a £2.99 monthly fee. By comparison, a single ticket from Salford to Manchester costs £2 by bus and £2.80 by tram - though season tickets for buses and trams can be cheaper.It raises the question: will more companies and councils bring the pricing of e-scooters and e-bikes in line with buses and other traditional...