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Many people have reacted angrily to the destruction of thousands of Uber Jump ebikes at site in the US.
After videos and photos of the bikes being destroyed emerged on social media, many people questioned why the bikes were not being repurposed.
Others said the ebikes could have been put to use in disadvantaged communities, especially by younger people who could have used them for transport.
The bikes are being destroyed at a time when more people are turning to cycling due to the risk of Covid19 infection on public transport.
Twitter users shared videos and images saying the bikes were arriving by the truck-load at a site in North Carolina where they were then crushed by a mechanical grab and thrown into trucks. Their batteries had already been taken out.
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Uber said it had decided to destroy thousands of its older-model bikes due to maintenance, liability and safety concerns. It added that no equipment was available to charge them individually, adding they were being recycled.
While there had been a plan to launch the Uber Jump ebike share scheme in Dublin as recently as last year, the bikes have never been launched in Ireland.
Three weeks ago Uber and Lime entered into a deal that resulted in Lime taking over the Jumb bike business.
Uber invested $170m in Lime. Under the deal Lime acquired
tens of thousands of Uber Jump bikes and the intellectual property in the
bikes.
However, 20,000 older bikes were not part of the deal and it is these that are now being destroyed, though Uber has said they were being responsibly recycled.
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