Scoobi shuts down moped-share operation in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s private moped-sharing company, Scoobi, has shut down operations in the city, according to city officials.
Scoobi rents out electric mopeds through an app, and the mopeds can be driven and parked throughout certain city neighborhoods.
Maria Montaño, press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, said the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure was notified in June that Scoobi was ending operations in the city and would give officials 48 hours’ notice when they started to pull their fleet.
Montaño said DOMI did not cut ties with Scoobi, and the city was disappointed to see it shut down.
“We have always been proud to support them as a local micromobility operator and we’re disappointed to see them shut down,” she said.
Scoobi is based in Pittsburgh and first started operating in the city in 2018 with about 100 mopeds. Licensed drivers could rent electric mopeds by the minute. The moped traveled about 30 mph. In Pittsburgh, it operated as a seasonal business, pausing during the winter months.
Last fall, the company expanded to Austin, Texas, but appears to have closed down there too.
A request for comment to Scoobi was not returned.
Montaño said DOMI is evaluating the need for additional mobility operators to potentially replace Scoobi’s electric mopeds. She said the city is working on a Shared Mobility Plan to identify Pittsburghers’ mobility needs, and that the plan will be released in early 2023.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.
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