Auckland Council says they have spoken to Lime about recent incidents where the brakes on their scooters have locked up randomly causing serious injury, but are still waiting on the company's explanation and assurances.
A 27-year-old broke his jaw, the NZ Herald reported on Monday, after a Lime scooter he was riding suddenly locked the brakes, throwing him to the ground at speed. Two more men yesterday told the Herald they had also experienced the brake failure fault.
The fault is reportedly the result of a software glitch which was acknowledged by Lime earlier this month.
Auckland Council told 1 NEWS on Monday they are "seeking assurances from Lime that this is being managed with urgency," but that "we are not receiving the assurances that we require, and will be considering our options under the licence agreement if we do not urgently receive these".
Council Chief Operating Officer Dean Kimpton today told 1 NEWS they have now spoken to Lime "and reinforced the need for transparency and improved communications on the scooter malfunction issues".
"We have also asked them to provide information on the number of scooters affected, the technical issue leading to failure, their proposed solution including how they will manage pulling affected scooters off the streets, and assurance there will no further malfunctions," Mr Kimpton said.
"Once we have this information from Lime, we will decide on any next steps from a council perspective.
"Our priority remains ensuring that those people who choose to use this innovative new mode of transport are safe ... we will continue to hold Lime and other e-scooter providers accountable for the safety of their scooter product."
A representative for Lime took more than two days to respond to a query from 1 NEWS about the subject.
"We will continue to work closely with Auckland Council and Auckland Transport while the issue is still under investigation," the spokesperson said.
They repeated statements previously given to media, saying "user safety is our first priority", that "the affected scooters have been removed from circulation", and that "we are in the process of rolling out early detection and additional preventative measures for our global fleet".
The spokesperson told 1 NEWS "Lime's public liability insurance in New Zealand is there for riders and the public if something goes wrong".
However, Lime's Terms of Service indemnify them against any injury claims by riders.
Lime has been asked to clarify this statement.
Lime currently has a licence to operate in Auckland until the end of March.
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