Lime e-scooters plans for Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, Queenstown roll out

Thursday, 22 November 2018

Lime e-scooters could roll out in Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown.

The company that dropped 1000 electric scooters in Auckland and Christchurch is planning to spread to 'every city in New Zealand'.

On Wednesday, Lime's website listed job openings for operation managers in Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown.

Its ideal candidates were those with experience in 'pure hustle' - ie those not afraid of working long hours, work nights and weekends.

They would be required to 'triage data', manage customer complaints and be physically fit enough to lift about 18kgs-worth of e-scooter.

Lime e-scooters have been in Auckland and Christchurch for more than a month, now the firm is trying to expand into Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown.

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The self-proclaimed 'fastest growing startup of 2018' is also looking for a national manager to drive Lime's New Zealand subsidiary and 'mitigate potential obstacles'.

The listings come as the global company, with an estimated valuation of more than $1 billion, negotiates with respective city councils and transport authorities to permit its local operations.

Lime's Australia and New Zealand general manager, Anthony Fleo, said: 'We'd be excited to bring the service to every city in New Zealand'.

About 10000 e-scooters were rolled out across Auckland and Christchurch on October.

'Before we do any further expansion we want to work with local councils and go through that whole process.

'Hiring takes time, so if those are potential avenues for us we want to see if people are interested in working with the company.'

Lime co-founder and vice president of expansion Caen Contee was in Wellington in mid November.

The Californian-based startup first popped on to the micro-mobility market in January 2017, and within a year had conquered 70 markets and had clocked at least 6 million rides.

It burst on to the New Zealand market in mid October, when 400 dockless e-scooters dropped in Christchurch about 600 in Auckland.

But the service almost immediately faced criticism over safety, with emergency doctors seeing a rise in broken bones and flesh wounds from e-scooter incidents.

In its first month of operation in New Zealand, ACC received 173 e-scooter related injury claims.

Between October 14 and November 14, 106 Aucklanders made e-scooter related injury claims, with 60 people claiming in Christchurch and seven in the rest of the country.

On Tuesday, it was announced Lime was seeking a permit to operate in Tauranga, and Lime co-founder Caen Contee was in Wellington in mid November to scope out potential.

Conquering the micro-mobility market in Hamilton, Dunedin and Queenstown appears to be the next objective on the docket.

The scooters can travel about 12 kilometres per hour and cover distances of up to 60 kilometres depending on the terrain.

Lime scooters cost $1 to hire and 30 cents a minute after each hire, which equates to about $18 an hour.

They are unlocked using an app and are recharged by 'juicers' who are paid up to $15 per scooter to collect and recharge the batteries.

Fleo said Lime had a 'really positive' response from the New Zealand market and to address safety concerns, it was rolling out a global 'respect the ride' campaign that would include a New Zealand-specific rider-safety video.

'We're putting in about $3 million to promote rider safety … as a way to say thanks for the positive and warm welcome and help promote the safety aspect of our business.'