Your boss can now pay for your Lime bike to work

It’s the Uber of the bike world. Thousands of Brits now rely on a Lime green ebike to travel around the city. And from today, it could also become an in-demand employee benefit.

Lime has joined the UK’s government backed cycle-to-work scheme with specialist provider CycleSaver. Through the partnership, employees in London, Nottingham, and Milton Keynes will be able to apply for tax savings on Lime’s monthly minute bundles via salary sacrifice.

According to Lime, the scheme means a 30-minute ride could cost just £1.30, compared to around £3 without the deal, and provide a sustainable alternative to travel into work instead of the traditional train, bus, or car.

How does the Lime cycle to work scheme work?

The Cycle to Work scheme is a government-subsidised employee perk package. Workers select the bike they want to ride to work, and the employer buys it.

As it’s a business expense, the employer will not pay VAT on the bike. The worker will then ‘buy’ the cycle back from their employer by sacrificing a portion of their pre-tax earnings.

Because Lime rents bikes, instead of selling them, the CycleSaver and Lime partnership offers staff members the ability to buy a bike subscription, rather than a bicycle of their own.

Lime currently sells two bundles for consumers. Cyclists can either purchase 500-minutes or 1,000-minutes worth of riding time per month, at a cost of around £40 and £80 respectively.

Via the scheme, UK employees will be able to save between 28% and 47% on monthly minute bundles with Lime (depending on their tax bracket and repayment plan).

Lime or Tube Line?

Lime’s popularity has steadily been growing in the capital, overtaking Santander’s ‘Boris bikes’ and rival ebikes such as HumanForest.

It has quickly carved out a niche among office workers, who apparently prefer using bike lanes to stuffy tube carriages. In May 2024, Lime reported that 52% of trips in London occurred during peak commute hours.

The company is now hoping to broaden its appeal to this audience by partnering with CycleSaver. On top of this, it is rolling out two new bike models, called the LimeGlider, that feature lower seats and a smaller frame to better cater for women employees.

Why is this good for employees?

Employee support programmes have become a business necessity in today’s poor economic climate. With real wages falling and pay growth stalling, companies are seeking out ways to offer perks that can provide tangible financial benefits for staff.

Savvy organisations are also leaning on these benefits packages to incentivise remote and hybrid team members to return to the office. In a recent survey, 83% of employees said they would travel into the office more if their company funded their commute.

Cycle to Work could be a smart option for employers. In 2023, a report uncovered that UK employees could save £1,199 per year by applying to the programme. That number has likely increased due to inflation pushing up the cost of the daily commute.

Lime’s Cycle to Work subscription offers substantial cost savings for commuters. Plus, because employees are able to purchase a monthly rental, rather than buying the bike over several months, they can benefit from a more flexible repayment option.

Hal Stevenson, Director of Policy for Lime UKI, said: “Tens of thousands of people are already using Lime to commute every morning, so we hope companies and employees that are signed up to the UK’s cycle to work scheme take advantage of this.

“Offering a scheme that has discounts for both rental ebikes as well as personal bikes is a great way for businesses to encourage more sustainable and active travel by employees.”