TULSA, Okla. — The green Lime E Scooters scattered around town are a fun way to get around town, but no cheap investment.
The company said in the last two weeks about five of their scooters disappeared in Tulsa.
Each scooter costs about a $1,000 each. The battery used to power them runs $250.
Lime told 2 News they are down four to five scooters and 15 batteries.
Sunday morning, a Lime employee doing maintenance to some local bikes and saw a man riding a scooter painted blue to disguise it.
Lime told 2 News the man also had two batteries in his backpack.
Tulsan Richard Malhoit said he and his son rode the scooters for the first time just last week.
"I just think it's crazy, I don't know, it sucks that people take advantage of everything good that we have," said Malhoit. "Hopefully, they stop doing that so people can continue to enjoy them."
Most of the disappearances, a Lime representative said, took place within a mile radius of Admiral and Delaware St.
Stealing the entire scooter, though, doesn't seem like a well-thought-out scheme to Malhoit.
"You have to hook up a credit card to them, so it would seem kind of foolish to take one after that because wouldn’t they charge your card?” he said.
On a crowded day at the park, Shaya Lehman and Jack Appenvellar went for a ride before 2 News spoke to them.
“Just a recreational thing to do, you know, get out of the house, not have to sit and watch TV," said Appenvellar.
Appenvellar said he hadn't noticed a shortage of scooters, his primary pickup point is at 41st and Riverside.
Lime said they reached out to Tulsa police for help, but it's a tricky process because they are GPS-tracked.
Since they cost over a thousand dollars, including the battery, anyone caught with a stolen scooter could be charged with a felony.
If anyone sees a stray scooter or knows anything about the thefts call TPD's tip line at 918-596-COPS or can email Lime Tulsa directly at help-tulsa@li.me
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