Baldwin St scooter rider reveals motivation for conquering world's steepest street

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

A man rides down a wet Baldwin St in Dunedin on a Lime scooter - twice.

He came, he saw, and he conquered a wet Baldwin St on an electric scooter - twice.

'It is the steepest street in the world, there are Lime scooters - it goes together, I think,' the Christchurch man, who declined to be named, said.

The man was filmed riding down the wet street on Sunday, to the amazement of dozens of tourists.

The man was filmed riding the world's steepest street about 3pm on Sunday.

'Everyone was watching and taking photos, no-one was too grumpy about it.'

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The man takes his Lime scooter back up Baldwin St for a second ride down.

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His only regret was that he wasn't the first to conquer the street on an electric scooter, after a man was filmed taking on the record gradient - just hours after they were officially launched in Dunedin on Thursday.

'I had been thinking about it, but the other guy bet me to it.'

The wet conditions meant the man had to keep one foot off to 'slow it down', but was mindful about wearing out his new shoes.

'It was alright, I was going slow enough so even if I fell off it wouldn't be too bad,' he said.

'But I wouldn't condone doing it while intoxicated.'

The two rides were filmed by two friends and later uploaded to Snapchat, he said.

He was surprised to see footage of his deeds appear on Stuff, hours after his ride.

'I thought it was pretty good.'

Dunedin was a completely different place to ride a Lime scooter as 'we don't have the steep hills [in Christchurch]'.

The Lime app now notes the street is an unserviced area and says 'please do not leave your vehicle here'.

Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said on Friday scooter users should remember their responsibilities when using the low-powered scooters, which did not require a licence.

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

In March 2001, a student died in a wheelie bin crash while riding down Baldwin St, while a man suffered serious head injuries.

Lime spokesman Matt McNeill said at the launch the scooters could tackle Dunedin's hills, 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,' McNeill said.

'You've got brakes so there is no problem with them coming down a hill as well.'

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.