The rideshare company Lyft has pulled from service all of its on-demand electric bicycles in the San Francisco Bay area, New York and Washington DC after riders complained that they were having problems with the brakes. According to a CNN news report, the company said in a blog post that it took the action after getting a “small number of reports from riders who experienced stronger than expected braking force on the front wheel.” They said they are proactively removing the pedal-assist bikes from service for the time being “out of an abundance of caution.”
Lyft will pull about 3,000 bikes from the service and replace them with regular bicycles. In total, Lyft operates about 20,000 bikes in those three cities with a mix of electric and regular models. Last year, Lyft became the largest bike-share operator in the United States when it acquired Motivate, owners of the New York’s Citi Bike and DC’s Capital Bikeshare. In addition to ridesharing and bikes, the company has expanded into carpooling and scooter rentals.
Dangers Linked to Brake Issues
Based on this news report, it appears that the front-wheel brakes in several of these electric bicycles were not working properly. We’re pleased that Lyft has taken these dangerous and defective bikes off the streets in the major metros where they are probably the most used. Brake defects could potentially lead to a number of serious, even fatal, injuries including head trauma, spinal cord injuries, broken bones and internal organ damage.
Liability Issues
While bike-share programs are becoming increasingly popular in major cities and are being viewed as the solution to traffic congestion issues in these metro areas, it is important to keep in mind the quality of bicycles that are out there and how well they are maintained. Having defective bicycles or bikes with faulty parts, or failing to repair damaged bikes could prove dangerous for those who use them and result in serious injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a faulty bike-share bicycle, please remember that you are entitled to legal rights. You may be able to seek compensation for damages such as medical expenses, lost income, hospitalization, cost of rehabilitative treatment, pain and suffering and emotional distress. It would be in your best interest to contact a renowned e-bike injury law firm that has also successfully handled product defect and auto defect cases.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/14/tech/lyft-e-bike-service-pause/index.html
