9 Ways to Make More Money as a Lime Scooter Charger

Working as a Lime Juicer is an easy way to make money in the gig economy.

Lime juicing offers decent pay for simple work, and it can even be fun at times – if you know what you’re doing. And unlike Uber or Lyft, you don’t have to deal with passengers in your care, which is a major bonus for some.

But, like with any side hustle, there are always ways to make more money on the job.

Whether you’re already working as a Lime Scooter charger or thinking about signing up for the gig, keep reading. Today we’ve got 9 easy tips for how you can make more cash and maximize your earnings as a Lime Scooter charger.

Becoming a Lime Scooter Charger

Signing up to become a Lime juicer is easy. You can do so from their website or mobile app.

To get started either visit the Lime website or download the app. From the website, all you have to do is enter some basic information, such as your name, phone number, and email. If you prefer to use the Lime app, click on where it says “become a juicer” to submit your information.

If you’re approved as a juicer, you’ll need to do a short orientation in which you’ll learn the ins and outs of the job. When that’s done, you’ll receive a Lime Juicer agreement to sign, and then you’ll just have to wait for them to send you your chargers. (You can’t charge the electric scooters unless you have the chargers from Lime).

In most cities, you’ll receive 3 chargers to start. Once you get your chargers in the mail, you can start collecting and charging immediately.

How Much Do Lime Chargers Make?

What you earn depends on how many scooters you collect and what types of scooters they are.

On average, Lime pays between $3 and $12 per scooter, with the majority of them coming in at the $5 rate.

The price per Lime varies depending on where it’s located, how hard it is to find it, and how close it is to other scooters that need charging. In some cases, hard-to-find Limes pay as much as $20 each.

The number of chargers you have will also determine how much you can earn. The more chargers you have, the more money you can make.

On average, people that charge 10 scooters per night make anywhere from $50 to $100 each night.

Keep in mind, most people only get 3 chargers per night, so that could be as little as $10-15 a night. But don’t despair, there are many ways to increase your earnings as a Lime scooter charger.

9 Ways to Make More Money as a Lime Juicer

Making $50 to $100 per night is pretty decent if you’re looking for an easy way to make some extra cash. After all, all you need to do is ride around and collect scooters, charge them while you sleep, and put them back out on the street in the morning.

But there are some things you can do to make even more:

1. Take Advantage Of The Sign-on Bonus

It’s common for rideshare gigs and delivery gigs to provide a generous sign-on bonus for new workers. Lime is no exception.

To entice you to want to work (and work hard) Lime offers a sign-on bonus to any driver who signs up with a referral code.

The sign on bonuses change from time to time, but there is a current promo that will put an extra $90 in your pocket.

You can collect your $90 if you charge between 30-80 scooters within your first 30 days on the job.  If you charge more than 80 scooters in your first 30 days, you can earn a hefty $240!

Those numbers are completely obtainable, even if you work a different full-time or part-time job!

For more information on collecting your sign-on bonus, read our Complete Guide to Lime Scooter Charging.

2. Charge Batteries In The Right Order

To collect payment for charging scooters, you have to drop off that scooter back out on the street with more than a 95% charge the next morning. But with a bit of strategy, you can save yourself some time and aggravation.

Regardless of how many Limes you bring home in a night, charge the ones with the fullest batteries first.

A scooter with 80% battery life should only take an hour or so to charge. A scooter with little to no battery life takes about 5 to 6 hours to charge fully. By charging the scooters with the fullest batteries first, you should be able to charge multiple scooters with one charger.

Save the scooters with little to no battery life for the end. That way, you can plug them in and let them charge overnight while you’re sleeping.

3. Get More Chargers

This one kind of goes without saying, but the more chargers you have, the more scooters you can charge at a time. And the more scooters you juice up, the more money you’ll make.

A lot of people have had luck requesting additional chargers from Lime, but it often takes time to get them. In some cities that have a lot of juicers (or a lot of aggressive juicers) the demand is high, and the supply can’t be met. If you’re serious about maximizing your profits, you can also purchase additional chargers from Lime for $19 each (as long as they’re in stock).

4. Know The Right Time To Harvest Scooters

Scooters that are very low on battery power can be picked up for charging at various times throughout the day. At any point on any given day, you can check the app to see if there are any scooters that need to be picked up.

However, all scooters with less than an 85% charge can be picked up after 9pm. At 9pm, you’ll find the most scooters available on the street. But if you want to maximize profits and pick up as many as you possibly can, it’s a good idea to check the app throughout the day.

It’s also a good idea to start checking the app around 7pm or 8pm after the evening commute but before the 9pm release time. The more scooters you can harvest, the more money you can make each night.

5. Make Sure You Return Your Scooters On Time

Even though Lime juicers work independently, there are some strict rules you need to follow in order to get paid. And one of the most important rules is making sure that all scooters (charged at 95% or more) are back out on the street by 7am.

Scooters need to be returned by 7am at a designated LimeHub. You can locate the LimeHub nearest you by identifying the orange pins on the map on the app. If you fail to return your scooters by the 7am cut-off time, you won’t be paid.

Prepare yourself ahead of time, so you don’t run the risk of returning your scooters past the deadline. The LimeHub scooter locations don’t change often, so try to remember where they are, this will make the next day easier.

Lime doesn’t care if there’s heavy traffic or bad weather, so if those things are a factor, make sure you leave yourself enough time to do the job.

6. Use A Larger Vehicle

The larger your vehicle is, the more scooters you’ll be able to fit inside. And, as we’ve said numerous times, the more scooters you harvest, the more money you can earn.

With access to a truck or an SUV, you’ll be able to pack in a lot more scooters than you will with a small sedan. Ideally, you should use a vehicle that allows you to pick up your entire night’s worth of scooters in one shot. Otherwise, you may have to return home to drop some off then head back out to harvest more.

7. Keep Time And Distance In Mind

Time is money – and you won’t get paid for the time it takes you to drive around and look for scooters. You only get paid for how many scooters you charge. Lime doesn’t care if you spend 10 minutes finding 10 scooters or waste 2 hours searching for one… so spend your time wisely.

While time is an important factor, so is distance. Juicers are independent contractors. They don’t actually work for Lime – they work for themselves. And that means that Lime isn’t responsible for your gas expenses, mileage expenses, or the wear and tear you put on your car.

Try to minimize your expenses by driving the least amount of distance as possible. Look for the scooters that are closest to your location before you head off finding one that’s miles and miles away. The less you drive, the less gas you’ll use, and the more profit you’ll put in your pocket.

8. Don’t Waste Time On Your Search

How you spend your time harvesting Limes is up to you – but the faster you can find scooters on the map, the better off you’ll be. Some people think it’s worth it to spend 20 minutes looking for a hard-to-find Lime that pays $20.

But if you can spend 10 minutes picking up four Limes that pay $5 each, you’ll double your money and put in a lot less effort.

Before you head out, decide how much time you plan to spend finding each scooter. Don’t get stuck searching for one that’s impossible to find. You’re better off moving on and harvesting those that are easier to locate.

Remember:

Every minute you waste searching for a scooter is time that other juicers are picking up the ones that are easy to find. Don’t be tempted when a far away $20 Lime pops up, keep it local and earn more.

9. Charge Bird Scooters At The Same Time

As we already mentioned, juicers are independent contractors, so Lime can’t put any restraints on you in terms of what other companies you work for. And that means that you’re free to work for other companies at the same time – including their biggest competitor, Bird.

Many Lime juicers double up their pay by collecting and charging Bird scooters at the same time. The scooter charging gig continues to get more and more competitive, so the more opportunities you give yourself, the better off you’ll be. Sign up to be a Bird charger, and also check if there are other scooter companies like Skip or Spin in your area. The more, the merrier!

Just make sure you have both your Lime and Bird apps open at the same time so you can switch back and forth between the maps in your scooter hunt. And make sure you’re following the rules and regulations for each company. It may take a little bit of getting used to, but you may be able to double your earnings per night.

Working as a Lime juicer is a great way to put some extra cash into your bank account, and if you know the secrets to success, you can make more money than the average juicer out there.

For starters, sign up and apply with a referral code so you can collect your sign-on bonus.

Get as many chargers as possible so you can charge multiple scooters per night. Charge scooters with the highest battery life first and leave the ones that are near death for overnight charging while you’re asleep.

To harvest the most scooters, know what times are the best times to head out on your search. Look for ones that are closest to you so you don’t waste time driving or waste money on gas. Set a time limit for how long you’ll search and don’t get hung on looking for scooters that are hard to find.

If you have a large truck or an SUV, you’ll do even better – and you can even double up and collect Bird scooters at the same time.

And always make sure you do what it takes to meet the 7 am deadline for releasing the Limes back out on the street. If you can’t do that it won’t matter how many strategies you’ve employed – miss that deadline and you won’t get paid at all.