San Francisco-based Skip scooters is expanding into the San Diego market, though it has experienced recent operating problems in the nation’s capital.
Skip announced last week it would launch its distinctive light-blue scooters in San Diego on Monday, with dockless units available in downtown San Diego, Balboa Park, Hillcrest, North Park, La Jolla, Pacific Beach and Pt. Loma.
The company has a reputation for working closely with local authorities, but is currently banned for 30 days in Washington, DC, because of a battery fire.
“When a Skip scooter was discovered in DC with its battery in flames on May 30, there was no injury or sign of a systemic cause,” Skip officials said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, Skip pulled its entire fleet from both the DC area and San Francisco.
“After a thorough investigation, we’re confident that the incident in DC does not affect any other vehicles in our fleet,” the company said.
Skip said it repairs broken scooters rather than replacing them to produce the least amount of waste.
The latest dockless scooters enter a San Diego market that already includes Bird, Lime, Lyft, Razor and Uber.