The path to Austinites' hearts and minds almost always includes a nod to its local music scene. And Lime, the San Francisco-based dockless e-scooter startup, has taken note.
The company, which has hundreds of its scooters on Austin streets, is launching a program that lets riders opt into a donation program that helps fund the Austin Music Foundation.
"A few cents multiplied by hundreds of rides makes a huge difference for our organization and allows us to improve our programs, support revenue development opportunities for musicians and strengthen every aspect of the Austin music community!" Austin Music Foundation spokeswoman Emily Miller said in a news release.
Lime is starting out by testing two donation options. One sends a flat rate of 15 cents per ride to the local music nonprofit. The other allows riders to round-up their fares to the nearest dollar amount and that difference goest to the music foundation.
If that round-up option sounds familiar, it may be because RideAustin, the nonprofit ride-hailing startup, made rounding up for charity a cornerstone of its launch in 2016 after Uber and Lyft temporarily left Austin.
The Lime Hero launch is starting with just three cities: Austin, Washington, D.C., and Seattle. In Washington, D.C., it's partnering with Building Bridges Across the River. In Seattle it's teaming up with the Cascade Bicycle Club.
Lime eventually plans to offer it to all their U.S. markets with local partners.
