After a year on the streets Auckland Council soon to decide whether Lime scooters will stay

October 18, 2019

Auckland officials will soon decide whether they should stay.

Lime scooters are celebrating the milestone of being on New Zealand streets for one year and Auckland Council will soon decide if they’re allowed to stay.

Lime said their first 12 months haven't been a smooth ride.

"It was a really rough time, we did learn a lot," said Lauren Mentjox from Lime New Zealand.

Lime's trial was temporarily suspended by the council in February after some scooter’s legs were randomly locking and hurling people off.

Lime had to tighten their safety regulations and check their scooters every seven days to be allowed back on the streets.

"The seven days mandated by the council has actually been one of the best things for our industry, because that means that all the scooter operators are required to see these scooters more often," said Hanafi Zwart, Lime's Auckland operation manager. 

Chris Orr from Blind and Low Vision New Zealand said guide dogs and people are frightened by Lime scooters.

"I have concerns about my safety and indeed we've got information from our clients from Blind and Low Vision New Zealand that they're now not going out on the streets, not going shopping because they're concerned about being hit by an E-scooter.

"We want to support the notion of micro mobility including E scooters but not on footpaths, they should be on the road or in cycle paths,” said Mr Orr.

ACC has paid almost $4.5 million in a year on E-Scooter claims.

Auckland Council will soon evaluate Lime's yearlong trial.

The review comes after a death last month.

"We're absolutely devastated about the death of one of our riders and we're working really closely with all of the authorities to ensure we conduct a robust investigation," said Ms Mentjox.

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