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Lime has taken a page out of the “Uber playbook,” the chief executive of rival Voi has said, as the start-up’s rapid expansion brings it close to a monopoly over London’s entire e-bike and e-scooter market. In an interview with City A.M.

, Fredrik Hjelm said Lime had adopted Uber’s “modus operandi” when it first launched its ride-hailing service. “Ask for forgiveness, not permission. Yeah, we’ll take shortcuts to the benefit of scaling and making money.



” His comments draw comparisons with Uber’s initial expansion in London, which was controversial in part because of its speed and the firm’s lobbying strategy. Uber itself was an early stakeholder in Lime and led a $170m (£132.9m) investment round in the firm in 2020, alongside venture capital groups GV and Bain Capital Ventures.

Lime has emerged as by far the biggest e-bike and scooter operator in London in recent years and is one of the few to turn a profit. Its fleet now dwarfs competitors such as Tier, Dott, and Forest and even surpasses Santander’s fleet of Boris bikes. But last week, its rapid expansion came under fire as Hackney’s Green Party raised questions over Lime’s partnership with a charity run by the Labour borough’s transport lead Mete Coban, following revelations in City A.

M. Lime pushed out a number of rivals when it won a hotly contested contract to operate in Hackney in 2022, which is up for review in July. The criticism comes as dockless bike companies face growing criticism.

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