Lime bikes are here to stay, the city says.
Photo by Sabina Mendoza.
As of Aug. 21, 2026, Victoria has seen a city-wide influx of green. Lime Bikes — a rentable e-bike-share program — are the city’s newest transportation venture, with 400 e-bikes popping up at docking stations across the city.
The bike share is available throughout James Bay, Downtown, Hillside-Quadra, Burnside, Victoria West, Fairfield, and North Park. So far, more than 110 docking stations have been installed across the city, with more to come in the future; the city said it plans to convert more parking zones into docking stations in 2027.
Riders can rent the bikes for as little or as long as they like, at a rate of $0.34 per minute, plus an additional $1.15 before riding to unlock the bike. Riders can choose from “bundles” as well, such as $3.99 for 30 minutes, or $14.99 for 120 minutes. Using them is simple; riders open the Lime app, start their ride, and finish by leaving the bike in a designated docking zone.
Victoria resident and cyclist Josh Rix said in an email to the Martlet that that the bikes have “been a phenomenal tool for me to get from x to y when there isn’t a direct bus route going either way. Even more so, it has been helpful in getting around when buses aren’t running.”
“I believe the biggest issue with the Lime Bikes is their disconnection with the surrounding areas,” Rix said. “The [inability] to go into Langford or Saanich from Victoria on the Lime Bikes is a severe disadvantage, and discourages me to use them as a large portion of the CRD is inaccessible by e-bike rental.”
Restarting an e-bike share program in Victoria has been in development since July of 2025, when council approved and released a request for proposal (RFP).
“Lime was awarded the contract based on their proposal best meeting the city’s publicly available criteria,” said the City of Victoria in an emailed statement to the Martlet.
Lime’s contract with Victoria to operate a city-wide bike share program is five years, with two optional three-year renewals, the city confirmed.
Criteria for evaluating proposals in response to the RFP included “knowledge, experience and qualifications on running an e-bike service of this scope and size, their proposed methodology for operating in Victoria, their ability to enhance bike share parking zones according to the city’s public realm goals, a financial submission including user fees, social value, sustainability, equity and accessibility,” and “a physical demonstration of their technologies,” the statement continues.
However, on social media platforms like Reddit, some users said they are experiencing deja vu from 2017 and 2018, when the city last attempted a bike-share program with U-bicycles. This addition to the city ended with many left in middle of side walks, or in waterways throughout the city.
The city said that “the previous dockless bike share system operated by the private company U-Bicycle in Victoria was a very early iteration of bike share, with less regulation, experience and oversight to ensure a successful implementation.”
Regarding instances of vandalism against the bikes and their stations, the city said Lime is “responsible for the maintenance of bike share parking zones and bikes.”
Many Victorians have expressed approval over the program, but others have criticized the city for choosing Lime, an American company, given the reality of current relations between U.S. and Canada. Since Lime’s implementation, some Victoria residents have encouraged a boycott, and Victoria Councillor Stephen Hammond introduced a motion asking city staff to explore how they could prioritize Canadian companies.
“While choosing an American company initially caused some disdain, my understanding is that they had the best bid, and I feel that getting the bikes down sooner [rather] than later is more important than optimizing which company is chosen,” Rix said.
Compared to the city of Victoria, who spent $200 000 building parking infrastructure for the bikes, the district of Saanich took a different approach. Saanich along with the cities of Langford, Nanaimo, Parksville, Colwood, and the town of Comox, have all partnered with Evo — a Canadian bike-and-car share company owned and operated by the British Columbia Automotive Association (BCAA).
Saanich said it “does not provide funding for the program, and it is not District-operated.
“Evolve [Evo] is permitted to operate within Saanich much like any other permitted business. Evolve is responsible for all operating costs and is paying a fee to use public space for their Parking Zones.”
In an emailed statement to the Martlet a Lime spokesperson said “Our local team is continuing to listen to questions and feedback [and]monitor the service and make adjustments to help ensure the program is a smooth and positive experience for the community.”
Editor’s note: This article previously said Victoria spent $200 000 on the Lime contract. The $200 000 expenditure was actually for parking infrastructure.
