To make recovering abandoned and mis-parked e-bikes and scooters simpler, London and Milton Keynes rental operator, Lime, is encouraging users to report where they’ve seen them using a what3words address.

what3words has given every 3m square in the world a unique three-word address. This means that rather than relying on a conventional address or directions to find a location – which can be problematic within parks, for example – users can instead quickly and easily share where they are (or where something is) using the relevant three-word phrase.

To give just a handful of examples, fallen.burn.hobby, crate.vast.zealous and castle.stiff.clock refer to three different 3m square locations within Hyde Park. Were you to find a Lime bike ditched in one of those places, you could let the firm know exactly where it was via email, at support@li.me

Lime says that being given exact locations will also help it reach its “Ride Green” 2025 carbon negative target by helping its operations team avoid unnecessary mileage.

Florence Milner, Lime’s General Manager for UK and Ireland, told Tech Digest: “Lime has invested in industry-leading safeguards to ensure the vast majority of our users park responsibly.

“However, we know shared schemes can sometimes create parking challenges, which is why we’re proud to be partnering with what3words to ensure any issues can be identified and rectified even faster, making sure our service really does deliver for everyone.”

David Shakory from what3words added: “We are very pleased that the leading micromobility provider Lime is working with what3words, using our innovative system to improve public order and to integrate e-bikes and e-scooters even better into the urban landscape.

“In future, anyone who discovers mis-parked e-scooters or e-bikes will be able to use a what3words address to provide simple and precise location information.”