Yesterday, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance allowing the city’s more permanent regulations for bike-share operators to move forward. Under the new permit rules built by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), all current bike-share operators will need to reapply—making it unclear what our bike-share landscape could look like in a few months. We asked

Currently, Lime, Ofo, and Spin are the only ones with city contracts, which are grandfathered in until the more permanent system can go into effect. Out of those, we know at least one isn’t sticking it out in Seattle: Ofo cited an increase in permitting fees as a reason for leaving.

“We appreciate the efforts of City Council and SDOT in crafting new requirements for dockless bike share in Seattle,” said Lina Feng, Seattle general manager for Ofo Seattle. “The exorbitant fees that accompany these new regulations—the highest in the country—make it impossible for Ofo to operate and effectively serve our riders, and as a result, we will not be seeking a permit to continue operating in Seattle. We’re incredibly disappointed to be leaving the first U.S. city to welcome Ofo and thank the city for its partnership and support this last year.”

Under the new rules, fees would be $50 per bike per year—$30 for program administration and $20 to support bike parking programs—or $250,000 for a fleet of 5,000 bikes, prorated by month. Operator fees were $15 per bike, no matter the duration, during the pilot. The idea is that private bike share operates at little, if any, cost to the city.

Ofo still carries a permit from the pilot program. After that permit is expired, the bikes will be phased out.

Meanwhile, as Ofo announced its departure, Lime is diving headfirst into the new permitting process—although there are no guarantees the green bikes will get a spot. The company announced its intention to continue operating both pedal bikes and Lime-E electric bikes almost immediately after the vote.

“Seattleites embraced Lime the moment we launched,” said Gabriel Scheer, director of strategic development at Lime, in a statement. “Since then, more than a third of city residents have had rides on our bicycles. We’ll absolutely be applying for bikeshare permits when they become available next month, and plan to continue to serve this city and beyond with viable, accessible and affordable mobility options.”

Lime is also preparing to launch e-bikes in Bellevue.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s third bike-share operator, Spin, is taking a more cautious stance. A spokesperson declined to comment on the new bike-share rules, saying the company is still reviewing the ordinance.

But the three existing operators aren’t the only ones to express interest in jumping into Seattle’s bike-sharing landscape. We reached out to previous companies we’ve discussed a Seattle launch with—Texas-based Vbikes, Uber-owned Jump, Iowa based Koloni, and (relatively) longstanding Chinese company Mobike—and heard back from Jump and Koloni. (The rest had not commented as of publication, but we’ll update if/when they do.)

As an e-bike-only company, Jump has been watching regional laws governing the bikes closely. One issue that might arise: Although a new state framework draws a line between e-bikes that go over or under 20 miles per hour, the permitting rules cut bikes off at 15.

“We’ve encouraged the city to use the Class 1 standard under [Washington] state law for pedal-assist bikes, which is in line with national standards,” said Uber spokesperson Nathan Hambley in an emailed statement. “We believe the final permit regulations should ensure different kinds of bikes are included in the system so that it’s easier to replace car trips with bike trips. For trips less than one mile in flat areas, pedal bikes may be attractive, but for commuters or those traveling longer distances or on hilly routes, adequately-powered e-bikes make more sense.”

Overall, Jump’s position, or lack of one, is similar to Spin’s: We’ll have to wait and see.

“We’re hopeful we can bring Jump bikes to Seattle,” said Hambley, “but we’re still waiting to review the final permit regulations.”

Koloni, like Ofo, balked at the permitting price.

“At $250,000 annually? Absolutely not,” said Koloni co-founder Brian Dewey over email. “It is interesting that only a few years ago these cities were highly subsidizing these programs. Now they hope to capture a profit. I know they are talking about using this revenue to create bike parking and infrastructure. But why tax the provider for these improvements? These improvements should go back to city urban and sustainable design or lack of sustainable design.”

“It’s ridiculous and we will see cities subsidize bike share programs again in the next few years,” added Dewey. “It will come full circle.”

This article has been updated with a comment from Koloni and more information about Ofo.