Lime secures 300 extra scooters and 12-month lease for Christchurch streets

Thursday, 28 February 2019

Lime scooters will remain on Christchurch streets for at least another year – and there will be more of them. 

The city council has granted the California-based company a 12-month permit to operate a fleet of 1000 scooters, up from the existing 700.

Auckland and Dunedin city councils ordered the scooters off their streets last week due to safety concerns, but Christchurch councillors accepted assurances from Lime that the braking issue had now been fixed. 

Lime would be charged $86.25 per scooter per year, which was based on the amount of space the scooters would take up on the footpath – calculated as half a square metre.

**READ MORE:

* Christchurch city officials accept Lime's safety assurances

* Christchurch man charged for 111 Lime scooter rides he did not take

* Lime's call for e-scooter support sees over 4000 emails sent to Auckland Council

* Lime pushes for exclusive e-scooter rights on Christchurch streets

* E-scooters here to stay in NZ cities, but new rules needed**

The permit could be suspended immediately, without notice, if urgent action was required to protect public safety.

Three New Zealand-based Lime representatives spoke to councillors on Thursday and assured them the braking issue had been fixed. 

New Zealand Lime launcher Matt McNeill said Lime had accepted the council's permit charge, after discussing several options with council staff. 

'It's an outgoing cost to our business but I wouldn't say it affects the longevity of the business.'

Lime had earlier described the fee as 'almost punitive'. It said it already paid GST and corporation tax in New Zealand and had created more than 30 jobs in Christchurch.

Lime had earlier offered to pay $83 per scooter per year, but only in exchange for exclusivity. It had also offered to pay the council $200,000 up front to cover four years of exclusive rights to operate an unlimited number of scooters. 

Stuff has calculated Lime could earn more than $10m, before costs, from its Christchurch business during the next 12 months. 

Lime had also been pushing the council for exclusive rights. 

The council's decision to limit the number of e-scooters to 1600 has left room open for another operator to put 600 scooters on the streets. The limit was based on three to four scooters per 1000 residents. But the city limit could be changed.

Cr Mike Davidson wanted Lime scooter numbers to be limited to 50 per cent of the city cap, because he believed allowing Lime to operate the majority of e-scooters in the city could deter other operators from setting up.

However, this was not supported by other councillors. 

Cr Glenn Livingstone said the scooters brought spontaneity back into the city.

'They make the city feel young again, and don't slime the lime.'

Cr Vicki Buck said Christchurch had always welcomed innovation and new ways of doing things.

'Not allowing Lime in the city would be about as popular as leaving chlorine in the water.'

Cr Yani Johanson said it was predictable, as a flat city, that the scooters would be successful, but he thought the fee was too low and the cost to hire a scooter was too high for some.