Lime e-scooters rolling out in home to world's steepest street

Tuesday, 8 January 2019

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

Lime scooters are tipped to hit Dunedin streets this week.

The southern city is set to become the latest in New Zealand to host electric scooters, with the launch expected on Thursday.

The Californian-based company's e-scooters first hit New Zealand pavements in Auckland and Christchurch in October, followed by Upper and Lower Hutt last month.

The scooters can travel nearly 30 kilometres an hour and cover distances of up to 60km depending on the terrain.

A Dunedin City Council spokeswoman said the council was not planning to mark the launch of the e-scooters, which will also be rolled-out in Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, and Queenstown. The city is also home to the world's steepest street – Baldwin St.

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While some councils charged the company for having a mobile trading permit, that was not required in Dunedin, a council spokeswoman said.

Council representatives had met with the company and 'developed an agreement with them on safety messaging and reporting incidents'.

That included Lime monitoring the use of the scooters, with the council to liaise with them about any problems, she said.

More than 100 ACC claims for e-scooter accidents were lodged within the first month of Lime's launch in New Zealand. This week, hooligans abusing Lime scooters are thought to have caused black marks on new paving around Christchurch, including some of a phallic nature at a children's playground

The company did not respond to an interview request.

The scooters can travel nearly 30 kilometres an 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.

Last week across the Tasman, Gold Coast's council confiscated Lime scooters less than 24 hours after they hit the streets.

The council had not approved the launch and had warned it would seize the scooters if Lime rolled them out.