Bike rental company owner says Lime bikes are affecting his business

ORLANDO, Fla. — If you live in the Orlando city limits, you've likely started seeing green bikes all over town.

It's been a week since Lime bikes launched, and some small business owners are crying foul.

Some bike rental company owners said companies, such as Lime, play by different rules than they do.

Last week, 500 of the Lime bikes showed up overnight.

While some people think they're a good idea, others are worried their businesses will unfairly take a hit.

"It just kind of helps people get around," said Clay Dahlan, of Orlando.

"I think it's good to be able to take a bike -- put it anywhere, drop it off anywhere," said Orlando resident Brian Meares. "Ideally, if citizens are responsible we should be OK."

A local bike rental business owner said many Lime bikes that he has seen are proof not everyone is responsible.

"I haven't seen one Lime bike yet following those rules," said Brian DeFoe, owner of Elite Road Bike Tours.

The city's rules include not parking the bikes blocking sidewalks and other public property.

There is also a rule against storing a group of bikes outside.

It's something DeFoe said he wanted to do, but in an email, the city said no.

So he wants to know why a city ordinance allows bike sharing companies, such as Lime, to store its bikes all over the city.

"They are operating a different business model, but it's still bike rentals," DeFoe said. "The only difference is people use an app for theirs, and they pay me -- a human -- for mine."

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DeFoe said it stings more that he feels the playing field is uneven and he is losing business.

"It's the first weekend since they came out and my rental numbers were way down," he said.

The one time DeFoe did see Lime bikes at a bike rack, they were in front of another bike rental business.

That owner told Channel 9 that a Lime employee placed them there after they reported that the bikes were blocking a sidewalk.

"We shouldn't have to be reporting them, so they know where to come get their stuff and move it," DeFoe said.

He said it is too early to tell how big an impact Lime will have on his business, but he said he reached out to city staff to see if there is more wiggle room for how he runs his business now that Lime is here.

Cox Media Group