SAN FRANCISCO—On Wednesday, July 31, a second e-bike owned by Lyft burst into flames. An e-bike by Lyft caught fire last weekend on Saturday, July 27.
Each incident transpired in a different neighborhood. The incident on July 27 occurred in the South of Market area at Folsom Street and Second Street. The e-bike that caught fire on Wednesday occurred in the Lower Haight region at Page Street and Scott Street.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are temporarily making the ebike fleet unavailable to riders while we investigate and update our battery technology,” said Julie Wood, a spokesperson for Lyft. “Thanks to our riders for their patience and we look forward to making ebikes available again soon.”
Wood indicated its unclear if the bikes and batteries were tampered with or vandalized by someone and that they have seen an increase in the number of bikes being vandalized in the city.
The company has taken the bike fleet off the streets and are investigating other bikes to check their batteries. The e-bikes will not be available to rent on the cell phone app until Lyft discover they are safe to be used.
