Lime scooters on a roll in hilly Dunedin

Thursday, 10 January 2019

Matt McNeill, of Lime, talks up the new craze at the launch of the e-scooters in Dunedin in January.

Lime electric scooters have hit Dunedin, but will they be a hit in the hilly city?

A new four-letter word came from the mouths of Dunedinites, as 300 e-scooters were introduced to the city on Thursday.

Lime spokesman Matt McNeill believed the electric scooters would be popular with cruise ship visitors and students. Thousands of students are due back to the city in February.

Lime scooters have arrive in Dunedin and about 300 of the electric scooters will be on the streets.

'We will look to scale up or down [scooter numbers], as appropriate,' he said.

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But how will the scooters cope with Dunedin's hills and weather conditions, particularly in winter?

'I see it as an all round option here, McNeill said.

The scooters would be fine powering up gradual slopes, but on steeper inclines would need a 'bit of a manual kick to help'.

'But that said, there is nothing wrong with using a foot to help out a scooter. You've got brakes so there is no problem with them coming down a hill as well.'

McNeill said the city's separated cycleways were ideal 'they are probably one of the nicest places to actually ride them'.

He recommended people use those cycle ways to get across town with the scooters.

Dunedin is the latest New Zealand city to get the Lime electric scooters, but the launch was not without a hiccup.

Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen urged riders to show 'common sense' when using the low-powered scooters, which do not require a licence.

People could use the scooters on on roads, footpaths and the city's separated cycle lanes, he said.

A memorandum of understanding between Lime and the Dunedin City Council shows a range of rules, including the parking of the scooters, educational requirements, and safety inspections.

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.