If you live in a bigger city, you may have seen those scooters sitting on the side of the road in groups. Usually, they are neatly lined up on the sidewalk near a busy intersection, waiting for someone to rent one.
If you’re unfamiliar with the service, these scooters allow you to rent them by the minute by using an app. You sign up, scan the QR code on the scooter and you are then charged by the minute for as long as you’re using it. Lime and Bird are the bigger names in the industry, but there are some smaller names out there as well.
The cool thing about these Lime scooters is that they don’t last forever. Batteries only last for so long, right? Because of this, the company needs people like you to charge them at night and then return them to a specific location so that they are fully operable for the next day. It’s yet another one of the many side hustle-like apps out there that allow you to work whenever you want. If you love the idea of picking up scooters and then charging them at home, it’s a great way to earn some money in your free time.
In today’s guide, I want to talk about charging Lime scooters and how it works. I will dive into how much you can make, how the app works as well as how you can sign up. As in all of my guides, I’m 100% honest and would never recommend something I personally wouldn’t use.
What is Lime?
Lime offers scooters available via your smartphone to rent, and it’s very simple to use. It’s similar to that of an Uber, only that you’re riding around on a scooter rather than someone else.
To rent a scooter, you access the Lime app and find a scooter that’s nearby. You will then head to the scooter and unlock it using your app. At the time I’m writing this, it will cost $1 to unlock and then another $0.15 per minute.
The thing about these scooters is that they run on a battery, and as you can imagine, these batteries will run low on juice. Since these scooters won’t charge on your own, they offer the chance to charge them and pay you for doing so.
This is where the Lime Charger position comes into the picture.
Signing Up as a Lime Charger
If you’re interested in becoming a Lime charger, there are requirements that you need to know about just like any other app. To qualify, you must:
- be 18+ years old
- have a valid U.S. driver’s license
- have a social security number
- own a vehicle that’s able to store at least one scooter (truck/SUV is highly recommended to fit as many scooters as possible)
- own an iPhone/Android that works with an app
Unlike food delivery and ride sharing, charging scooters does not require a background check. This is simply because you will never interact with anyone; rather you’re picking up and dropping off scooters.
To start charging, you will just need to fill out an application found here. You will need to start with your name, phone number, email and zip code.
After, if they need Juicers for your area, you will see a “Welcome to Lime!” on the next screen. As long as you live in one of the 100+ cities they operate in, you should see this message. If you don’t, then they will more than likely put you on a waiting list in the case they do come to your town. To see the full list of cities they are operating in, you can refer to this location map. If your city is listed, then there’s a good chance they will need you.
If you see the accepted message, that’s great. This means you can sign up to become a charger as long as you meet the qualifications mentioned above.
After click on the “next” button, Lime will walk you through a variety of steps, including:
- how to Juice (this is like an orientation)
- how to get paid
- tax information
- Juicer agreement
- document check
- activation
During this process, you will need to set up a “Hyperwallet” account, which is how you will get paid. This process starts after your first job completes and works kind of like a direct deposit. You will also need to upload a picture of your driver’s license as well as input your social security number. As mentioned, no background check is required, but you will need to wait a few days in order for Lime to confirm your documents.
As soon as they approve your document and you agree to the terms, you will receive a welcome email. At this time, you may need to complete some lessons as well as wait for your charging kits to arrive in the mail. Once they do arrive, you can start using the app to start charging scooters in your area. It should take about five to seven days to get approved, but even longer to get the chargers in the mail.
How Charging Lime Scooters Work
As a lime scooter charger, it works just like many of the others apps like Uber, wherein you accept jobs as you please. There’s no 9-5 schedule and you can work any day you wish. With the app, you can pick up scooters, referred to as harvesting in the app, and then bring them home to charge. The company supplies you with the chargers needed and will even pay you for the electricity being used at your home as well. For every charger you have, this is the number of scooters you can take home for the night.
Once the scooter reaches at least 95% in battery power while being charged, you will then be asked to drop them off at a “LimeHub” by at least 7 a.m. to receive your payment. This LimeHub is simply where the scooters are being stored for consumer use. The location will also be designated inside your app so that you know where you are going.
To know which scooters are needed for charging at any given moment, you can open your app at any given time and you will be presented with a dashboard that looks similar to this:
The green icon indicates which scooters are needed to be charged. So, in this case, you could drop off by 7:00 a.m. and get paid $3.50 if you picked up one of the two scooters in that screenshot. Remember that you can always pick up more than one scooter, so you can make much more than the estimates seen above. Most charge tasks will start to pop up at 9 p.m. at night, but during the day, some may occasionally pop up if the battery gets low.
Once you find that scooter, you would scan the QR code found on the scooter to unlock it and take it home to start charging. As you can imagine, it may be hard to fit more than two to three scooters in a two- or four-door car, so if you’re serious about this, a truck or SUV is highly recommend, but not required, of course. I can’t stress this enough.
In the case you can’t find a scooter, you can make the scooter “ring” by pressing a button on your app. If you’re able to hear the ring, then it can help guide you to a location, but keep in mind that some people may throw the scooter in their house or even behind a fence on private property. In this case, you will have to report the scooter as being on private property. This seems to be a fairly common complaint online.
In short, your process will look something like this:
- find a scooter with a charge task (in green)
- reserve it or go to it
- scan the QR code and take the scooter home
- charge it to 95-100%
- open app for drop off location
- reserve LimeHub drop off location
- drop off, scan the scooter and take a picture to confirm
Lime Scooter Charger Pay
Becoming a Lime scooter charger is easy, but the most important question is how much am I going to get paid as a charger?
This depends. Depending on the current market and demand, you can make about $5 to $12 per scooter. This includes picking up the scooter, charging it and then returning it the next morning. Like Uber and DoorDash, wherein they offer “surge” and “peak pays,” the same goes for Lime. For example, you may find that you can almost make double on a weekend night. As all markets vary, you will have to sign up and pay close attention to the app to see when pricing is at its highest.
Also, in some cases, they may give you a bonus to help you earn even more money. For example, I have seen $150 bonuses if you charge a certain number of scooters in two weeks.
As for how much you can make in total per day, it all depends on how many scooters and chargers you have. If you have 10 chargers and you pick up 10 scooters for the night, then this could mean $50 to $120~. Don’t forget to factor in your vehicle maintenance. electricity, gas and taxes, however. Since it only takes 15-20 minutes to get to a scooter destination and load up, it’s not too hard to average about $20+ per hour for your time. Most of the time, you can find a cluster of scooters nearby.
Again, this greatly depends on where you live, when you work and how may scooters you pick up at once, so use this as an estimate only.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to charge a battery?
Generally, if the battery is lower than 20 percent, it can take up to seven hours to charge. However, if it’s only around 75 to 80%, it may only take two hours. As a strategy, chargers recommend you try to target scooters with a higher battery so that they can charge faster. This allows you to quickly charge and then deploy as needed.
How many chargers do I get?
At first, Lime will only send you a charger enough to charge three scooters, however, as you work more jobs, you can qualify for a total of 10 chargers. They say you can always request more chargers via customer service, but this isn’t always a guarantee. You can purchase additional chargers on Amazon if you want to maximize your earnings.
Can I work whenever I want?
Yes! You just need to turn on the app and see which scooters are available for charging. You can then go around and collect as you please. No commitments are necessary.
Final Thoughts
If you don’t want to deal with people and just want to pick up scooters, charge them and then drop them off as specified, it’s a tough gig to beat. No, it won’t replace your full-time income, but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to make $100 or even $200+ in a week. You just need to learn your market to see how you can capitalize your earnings. This can be said about any of the gig apps, however.
Worst case, try out the app. If you like what you see, keep working at it whenever you choose. If you don’t like it, then you can delete the app and go on with life with no consequences.
Now, I leave it up to you.
Have you ever charged Lime scooters?
How much did you make?
What did you like? Dislike?
As always, feel free to commence in the comments below!
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