Dockless scooter company serving KC recalls model after reports it can break

One of Kansas City’s two dockless scooter companies has decommissioned some of its scooters because of reports they can break while in use.

Lime acknowledged the recall Monday morning but did not say how many scooters were affected in Kansas City and globally. The company and its competitor, Bird, can each have up to 500 scooters around downtown and other parts of the city.

“We are actively looking into reports that scooters manufactured by Okai may break and are working cooperatively with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the relevant agencies internationally to get to the bottom of this,” the company said in a statement.

It added: “Safety is Lime’s highest priority, and as a precaution, we are immediately decommissioning all Okai scooters in the global fleet.”

The removal comes just two months after Lime first introduced its scooters in Kansas City. Bird landed in town in July.

According to the Washington Post, Lime several weeks ago pulled another scooter model because their batteries had the potential to catch fire.

Assistant city manager Rick Usher said Monday morning he had not been made aware of the scooter removal or reported breakages or battery fires. He said Lime and Bird are responsible for maintenance of their scooters according to the city’s agreements with the companies.

Those agreements, he said, also say scooters should not be used in inclement weather, like the snow that hit the metro early Monday morning.

Lime said decommissioned scooters, manufactured by Okai, will be “replaced with newer, more advanced scooters considered best in class for safety.”

“We don’t anticipate any real service disruptions,” the company said.

In a statement, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was aware of the issue but did give further detail.

“CPSC is working with the firm to gather information and to protect consumers,” the agency said.

Since the companies deployed their fleets, scooters have become mainstays of sidewalks and streets around downtown. Kansas City transportation officials have embraced the vehicles as a way to ease the “last mile problem,” the challenge of getting residents to and from public transit stops to get them to use busses and rail.

Scooters were briefly banned from the Country Club Plaza because of safety concerns but have since been allowed to whiz through the shopping district.

Lime and Bird scooters are parked around downtown, Midtown and the Country Club Plaza. Both companies charge $1 to start riding and 15 cents per minute after that.

Riders are expected to follow the same rules required of bicyclists, including riding in the street, but it’s common to see Lime and Bird riders zipping past pedestrians in downtown Kansas City.

This story was originally published November 12, 2018 at 12:19 PM.