Thieves stripping Lime e-scooters of batteries, electronics

First, people just stole the snazzy helmets. Now thieves have upped the ante with Lime’s e-scooters, and it’s proving even costlier.

Lime scooter riders Chris Isles and Caitlin Wood. Lime scooters have been found stripped and dumped in the Brisbane River. Picture AAP/David Clark

THIEVES stripped at least half a dozen Lime e-scooters of their valuable lithium batteries and electronics and dumped the frames in the Brisbane River near the Fig Tree Pocket boat ramp.

A resident, who didn’t wish to be named, said the frames had clearly been tossed out into the water and could be seen in the mud for several weeks before someone fished them out.

E-scooters cost about $500 to $1000.

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The dumped and stripped Lime e-scooters found in the Brisbane River at Fig Tree Pocket.

It is believed some thieves may have experimented with wrapping the scooters, which can be remotely tracked by Lime staff, in certain materials in an effort to mask their location.

The scooters’ wheels unlock only if the company’s app is used, however there is nothing to stop thieves from picking them up and putting them in a car, or carrying them away.

Lime did have loud alarms which activated when the devices were taken outside designated areas, but later deactivated them.

Cheap kits can also be bought online to deactivate the devices’ GPS systems.

It reported last year that only 1 per cent of its scooters in the United States had been stolen or vandalised.

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However, thousands of devices belonging to rival Scoot — which requires riders to lock them to a structure such as a fence after use — are believed to have gone missing in the US.

But some online reports suggest Scoot can sustain losses of up to 10 per cent before theft makes its operations unprofitable.

Lime has admitted it lost 12,000 helmets in its first 10 months of operation in Brisbane.

Its rival, Neuron Mobility, has admitted similar losses.

Both companies have struggled to control helmet theft, even floating the idea of a “Brisbane helmet’’ — common to Lime, Neuron and Brisbane City Council’s CityCycle bikes — to cut costs.