NO, dear readers, IT'S PREMATURE OVERKILL! These self-propelled two-wheeled machines, funded by privately-owned Chinese VCs [venture capitalists[ are getting free parking on the public sidewalks - or maybe we should call it "foreign direct investment" in our hyper-local "Donut-Hole" where we now see more bikes than people who might use them on the streets of our downtown community where not everyone is affluent enough to own a Smartphone to download the app on these bikes to pay to rent them 
Now seeing a second and third company dumping on public sidewalks here this time dockless bikes that you can find all around to use and drop off any time and anywhere you like - if you use a Smartphone there's an app you can download to rent the bike. What they don't tell you is that you rent at the same a GPS tracker that can track everything you do and collect your data: that's the money-maker to get "big data" - your data - start-ups can capitalize on in the new Sharing Economy to deliver back dollars to initial funding investors. It's got to be on an a big scale-up quickly, ca-chinging transactions and getting your data. Oro bikes, seen in the image to the right, is offering free rent for February.
They just need your butt on the seat.
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| Grid Bike stations in front of City Hall 2016 |
Is there really a strong demand for this here in . . . Mesa? Maybe just "early overkill"
According to Crunchbase, the firm was founded last January, meaning that the quickly-expanding company is just over a year old.It is anything but rare for bikesharing companies to raise oceans of capital in the current technology cycle. Chinese bikesharing companies are the most famous examples of investing largesse, raising billions to fuel their capital-intensive business.
CEO Toby Sun says LimeBike, now in 46 markets including two European cities, needs to grow even faster than planned. That’s why the company has raised another $70 million as an extension to the October round, bringing its total backing to $132 million.
Sun says the company’s fast pace of growth is merely meeting demand from users and cities. The company has also seen demand from landlords. A number of commercial and residential real estate owners have become interested in bike sharing as a way to make their properties more valuable, says Brad Greiwe, a managing partner at Fifth Wall Ventures, which focuses on real estate. His firm led LimeBike’s latest fundraising.
Further, tenants increasingly expect bike sharing as an amenity, he says, and landlords want to partner to provide hubs and storage areas for bikes.
Why are these bikes getting dumped downtown now in February? It's Spring Training season for a few weeks. The bikes might be rented to get from bus stops or Valley Metro Light Rail station platforms to get to Sloan Park . . .
LimeBike is a bicycle-sharing company headquartered in San Mateo, California. It operates dockless bicycle-sharing systems in several cities and college campuses across the United States, using a mobile app for reservations. The founders are Brad Bao, Toby Sun who re-tweeted this just hours ago - they just got $70,000,000 more bucks yesterday!
LimeBike Retweeted
Thrilled to announce $70M series B extension round on Valentine's day and Lunar New Year! Look forward to partnering with leading real estate focused fund Fifth Wall Venture to bring more @limebike family products to more users! https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/15/limebike-pedals-to-70-million-additional-funding/ … via @VentureBeat
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LimeBike: How it works - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVl0czHuOY
Feb 14, 2017 - Uploaded by LimeBike
This is how LimeBike works. Simply scan to unlock, ride anywhere, and lock to end the ride. Getting around
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7 hours ago - Bike-sharing turned multi-modal transportation company LimeBike has raised an additional $70 million from its previously announced $50 million Series B round. This brings LimeBike's total funding to $132 million. The funding comes shortly after LimeBike announced its entrance into the e-scooter and ...
LimeBike raises $70 million as the bike-sharing battle rages on
TechCrunch-8 hours ago
Bike-sharing turned multi-modal transportation company LimeBike has raised an additional $70 million from its previously announced $50 million Series B ... owners really want,” Fifth Wall co-founder and Managing Partner Brendan Wallace told TechCrunch about the firm's decision to invest in LimeBike.
LimeBike Secures Additional $70 Million in Series B Extension Round
PR Newswire (press release)-8 hours ago
PR Newswire (press release)-8 hours ago
LimeBike plans to kick into higher gear after real estate fund joins ...
Silicon Valley Business Journal-8 hours ago
Silicon Valley Business Journal-8 hours ago
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