Alphabet Inc.– and Uber Technologies Inc.-backed scooter- and bike-sharing service LimeBike Inc. is expanding its services to four wheels in the form of a car-sharing service.

Bloomberg reported today that Lime will launch a car-sharing service in Seattle this week. The service is starting with 50 Lime-branded Fiat 500 vehicles, with the company planning to expand its fleet to 500 by the end of the year and eventually to 1,500 at some point next year. That would make it the largest “free-floating” car-sharing program in a U.S. city.

Called LimePod, the service is accessed by an app that allows users to find cars and unlock them the same way Lime’s existing bike and scooter services are accessed. Users pay $1 to unlock a car, then 40 cents per minute for use of the vehicle, including insurance.

The “free-floating” part of the service refers to the fact that the cars will be scattered at various points around Seattle and not parked at designated locations.

“It’s another important component to get around,” said Chief Executive Toby Sun. “The primary use case we want to serve is longer distance, higher terrain and bad weather.”

Competition in Seattle comes from BMW’s ReachNow which has a similar car-sharing service that charges 49 cents per minute along with a recently announced Uber Black-style luxury ride-hailing service.

Lime’s decision to move into car-sharing is part of a broader move by ride-hailing and transport-sharing companies to create an ecosystem of transportation options that give customers choice within the same company.

Last week Ford Motor Co. acquired electric scooter-sharing Spin, a rival to Lime, as part of its push to offer an ecosystem of transport options alongside its burgeoning ride-hailing business. That started with a trial in Miami in February and more recently in Washington D.C. in October.

The big names in ride-hailing, Uber and Lyft Inc., have followed a similar path. Uber acquired scooter-sharing startup Jump in April, while Lyft bought the core assets of Motivate International Inc. in July and has since started using the technology to introduce its own electric scooter service.

Uber’s investment alongside Alphabet’s isn’t a great surprise in the bigger picture. Both are betting that Lime may be strong enough to stand on its own feet, even in the face of competition from Uber and Alphabet themselves.

Photo: Lime