Update: Skip scooters return to SF streets

Update: A spokesperson with Skip confirmed that the e-scooters have returned to the streets in San Francisco as of Tuesday afternoon. Original story below.

A Skip scooter’s external battery in Washington D.C. caught on fire last Thursday, officials with the electronic scooter company said on its official Twitter account.

The incident has prompted the company to suspend e-scooter rental services in Washington D.C. and San Francisco. Last August, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency handed two permits to e-scooter companies, including Skip to operate in The City.

Officials with the company reported there were no injuries and minor damage to a nearby wall when the incident occurred.

The company says they are looking at all possibilities of the cause of the fire, including foul play, and do not believe there is a reason that the incident affects other scooters in the fleet.

Skip says they want to share the results of the incidents with regulators, including the SFMTA, before putting the scooters back into service.

SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose said in a statement:

“While this is an inconvenience to customers, we appreciate that Skip is putting safety first.”

Rose added that the transit agency is monitoring the situation.

The company expects the scooters back into service in the next few days.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.