San Francisco electric scooters get new security feature

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- One of the companies that operates electric scooters in San Francisco is rolling out a new feature to keep the vehicles from disappearing.

It seems to be a persistent problem. In the first two weeks since the electric scooters returned to San Francisco, more than 200 were either stolen or severely damaged.

To prevent that, Scoot is installing cable locks on the scooters and integrating its use into their app.

"The device will allow the rider to lock the vehicle to a post, to a bike rack, to wherever. And when they turn on the app, it will automatically unlock. And when they park it, they lock it up. They take a picture of it so that we know it is locked and parked correctly," said Bob Walsh, general manager for Scoot Networks in San Francisco.

The new locking mechanisms will appear on the scooters in early December.

Scoot's competitor, Skip, said they have used wheel locks and alarms to deter thefts. They are also looking into locking technology.