New York (CNN Business)Lime has pulled part of its electric scooter fleet from the streets after learning that some of its vehicles’ batteries could catch fire.
The startup said it removed the affected scooters in Los Angeles, San Diego and the Lake Tahoe area, the three places where they were in service.
“Immediately upon learning of the defect, we worked with Segway Ninebot to create a software program to detect the potentially affected batteries,” Lime said. “We then worked independently to create an even more thorough software program to ensure that no potentially faulty scooters remained in circulation.”
The issue affected 0.01% of its total fleet, according to the company. But its battery problems don’t end there.
Another version of its scooters “may also be vulnerable to battery failure, which we are currently investigating,” it said.
The electric scooter industry has already had a roller-coaster year. Cities across the United States moved aggressively to rein in, and even shut down, companies like Lime and Bird Rides when hundreds of scooters filled their streets and cluttered their sidewalks seemingly overnight earlier this year.
Segway Ninebot wasn’t immediately available for comment late Tuesday on the battery problems reported by Lime.
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