The recall was announced as Ford GoBike continues to get reports of riders who experienced stronger than expected braking force on the front wheel.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are proactively removing the electric bikes from service for the time being,” the company said in a press release. “We will quickly replace some of the electric bikes with pedal bikes. A portion of electric bikes in San Jose have different components, and will remain in service.”
Ford said it will add a monthly fee to customers’ memberships to fund the recall, and that a new Clipper-card enabled electric bike will be on the streets soon.
GoBike began adding electric bikes to its fleet in 2018, according to The Gothamist. Lyft acquired GoBike’s parent company Motivator in July of that year, and though the scooters feature the words ‘Ford Motor Company’ and its insignias, Ford is mainly involved as a sponsor.
GoBike tripled its number of electric scooters in December 2018, from 250 vehicles up to 850, while also providing new use of the devices in Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, and San Jose.
Source: Curbed SF