The latest wave of GPS-tracked travel options has hit New Zealand in the form of Lime scooters, and they're a lot of fun, but they're also not without their pitfalls.
There are easy instructions available on how to sign up - they just take your details from Facebook and you then add a credit card - they've even built Apple Pay into their app.
I found a free scooter after a two-minute walk and decided to take it for a quick ride around central Auckland's Victoria Park to see what they can do.
But before we get into the ride, lets just talk about the cost.
Importantly, the app tried to put me on a recurring charge scheme when I signed up and I had to opt out. Bad form, Lime - it should always be opt-in - that's really sketchy behaviour.
I rode a Lime scooter for 38 minutes, travelled 3km, and the total price was $11.40, with a $1 discount applied for some reason. Much, much more than I was expecting.
These scooters are definitely not as cheap as you might imagine - Uberestimate.com lists the price for a 3km UberX ride at $8-11, so just bear that in mind.
OK, so how do they handle?
If you have never ridden a scooter, skateboard, or even a bike before, you'll want to be really cautious the first time you set off.
These things are fairly big, the non-adjustable handle bars are quite tall, and they are a lot heavier than they look.
They feel bottom heavy with the handle bars so high off ground, and it takes a while to get a feel for them, so don't go straight on to a busy footpath like I did.
These scooters have relatively small wheels compared to a bike, and you really feel any bumps in the road - there's no suspension on these bad boys.
They are deceptively quick to accelerate downhill or even on flat land, so be careful. The throttle button has no middle ground - it's either off, or on full-blast.
You are allowed to ride these things on the footpath legally without a helmet, but whether you actually should is a different matter.
I definitely got a few scornful looks from pedestrians as I zoomed down Victoria Street, and the bell attached to the Lime-S is too quiet for purpose.
Honestly, I felt really out of place riding on the sidewalk, borderline irresponsible, and I definitely felt like if I was a pedestrian, I would consider yelling "get off the footpath!" at someone like me.
On the flat, on a nice smooth piece of concrete, my speed topped out at 27.6km/h, and I weigh about 90kg. The handling at top speed is ... precarious at best.
Uphill, it really struggled. I went up Victoria Street West heading east, a pretty average slope by Auckland standards, and I actually needed to push the scooter a bit like a skateboard to help it along.
It has a small LED light mounted on the front, but I definitely wouldn't count on that to give you any type of actual lighting - it's more of a warning for people in front of you.
The rear (and only) brake seems to work as advertised and I never felt like it was going to let me down.
In the interests of journalism, I verified that you can, in fact, do a pretty decent skid on these scooters, because the brakes will lock up if you pull them hard enough.
These scooters are definitely not safely ride-able with one hand, so if you're thinking about taking one to grab a coffee on your lunch break, best of luck to you.
All in all, I think they're good for a bit of fun, and come with a certain "look at me" novelty factor, but considering they cost similar to a taxi, are a menace to pedestrians, are legitimately dangerous if you fall off, and will struggle on hills, I'm not overly impressed.
Five out of ten.
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