Smirnoff Vodka pokes fun at Lime e-scooter glitch in new billboard

Saturday, 23 February 2019

Smirnoff takes a dig at Lime scooters over a technical issue which has caused the front wheels on some scooters to lock.

A cheeky new billboard promoting Smirnoff Vodka in central Auckland appears to make fun of Lime's e-scooter technical glitch that has seen them temporarily pulled off the streets.

The drinks firm used the opportunity to promote its new lime-flavoured drink on the Nelson St sign that reads: 'Lime with no 'technical issues'.'

The e-scooters have been withdrawn from the streets of Auckland and Dunedin after reports of wheels locking up, throwing riders off and causing injury.

Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton confirmed on Friday that Auckland Council and Auckland Transport had decided to 'temporarily suspend' the e-scooter trial in the region due to safety concerns.

* Lime confirms e-scooter fault which locks wheels caused by 'software glitch'

* Lime has one-day deadline to explain safety glitch to Auckland Council**

Kimpton said there had been 155 'irregular braking incidents' reported across the country, 92 of which were in Auckland.

On Saturday, a handful of Lime scooters were still showing as being available on the app.

Lime spokeswoman Lauren Mentjox said the team was currently working hard to collect the few remaining scooters.

'Some of them we couldn't retrieve overnight because they were either at a private house or in a locked car park.'

The suspension of Lime scooters will be reviewed on Monday.

Since the release of Lime scooters last October, ACC has paid out $200,000 for e-scooter-related injuries.

The Government is also looking at law changes that would impose a 10kmh speed limit for the e-scooters.