Rideshare businesses clock over 125,000 trips in Wellington and Hutt

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

Lime e-scooters have been used to take 75,000 trips in the Hutt Valley since being launched on December 14. Wellington region operations manager Sam Seiniger said they hoped to start operating in Wellington in 2019.

E-scooter use in a month has outstripped three months of bike rides in the Wellington region's burgeoning personal rideshare market.

Punters have made more than 75,000 trips on 400 Lime e-scooters since they launched in the Hutt Valley on December 14. Wellington's 200 Onzo bikes have been used about 50,000 times since being launched last October.

Hank Rowe, left, New Zealand launcher, and Sam Seiniger, Wellington Region operations manager, were on hand to launch about 400 Lime scooters in the Hutt Valley last December.

Both companies are pleased with the uptake of ridesharing in the region.

Lime Wellington operations manager Sam Seiniger said people were starting to view the scooters as a legitimate means of transportation. The service had diverted a lot of people from making trips in cars and, in doing so, reduced pollution and congestion on the roads.

Onzo rideshare bikes were launched in Wellington in October last year. Wellingtonians have since taken about 50,000 trips on the bikes which have been used as commuters, getaway vehicles and installation art.

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More than 25,000 registered users had downloaded the Lime app since the Hutt Valley launch and while intended for use in the Hutt, more than a few e-scooters had already been ridden to Wellington City.

Seiniger had been tickled by a report of one customer who rode from Upper Hutt to central Wellington, having used four e-scooters along the way. The customer swapped scooters as each vehicle's battery went flat.

Onzo spokesman Harry Yang said the bikeshare company was nearing 25,000 users having deposited its first 200 bikes on the capital's streets last October.

'We're extremely happy with how the city has taken and adapted to this new platform and hope to continue providing this healthy alternative.'

Massey University transport researcher Dr Imran Muhammad said ridesharing was an excellent solution to the 'first and last mile trip' dilemma - where people drove to reach public transport or to their final destination after using a bus or train, and for short trips of 2 to 5 kilometres.

He believed there was room for ridesharing to grow, but in order to integrate ridesharing with existing transport infrastructure, local authorities needed to clearly contextualise the purpose of services provided by the likes of Onzo and Lime.

Personal ridesharing had failed to take off in some places overseas because people had not identified their utility or, in a reaction to teething problems, local authorities had tried to exercise too much control over them.

Seiniger said Lime was planning an expansion into Wellington City but was unable to say when that might be.

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the council was in discussions with Lime and other potential e-scooter providers. They were being mindful of how the vehicles might fit with the dynamics of Wellington's compact CBD.

Although Lime operates bikes in other counties, Seiniger said the their focus in the Wellington region remained with e-scooters. Their size made them easier to pick up and fix or recharge, before being placed where they would be used.

A reliable and available service was more likely to become an accepted transport solution, he said.

Yang said the 'second generation' of bikes was close to being released in Wellington, though did not say how many.

Expansion was always on the agenda and they wanted to take Onzo to as many communities as possible.