Council e-scooter trials could contribute to new regulations

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

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

Council trials for e-scooters in Auckland, Christchurch and Lower Hutt may help shape a new national regulatory package.

'We want everyone to feel and be safe when travelling down the street,' Brent Johnston, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Safety manager, told Stuff on Tuesday.

For that reason, the Ministry was working on 'Accessible Streets' - a regulatory package that aims to improve safety for footpath users and encourage active transport.

A lime scooter and a truck collided in Dunedin on Friday.

Part of that focus would be on mobility devices, including e-scooters, which can currently be used on footpaths and shared paths.

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Johnston said short-term trials of e-scooters were under way by councils in Auckland, Christchurch and Lower Hutt.

Those trials, which would likely include data on crashes and speed limits, would contribute to the ministry's regulatory package, which was likely to be out for public consultation earlier this year.

His comments come after University of Otago student Renee Whitehouse, of California, was seriously injured after she collided with a truck on a lime scooter in Dunedin.

Members of the 26-year-old's family arrived in New Zealand on Sunday and have been approached for comment.

A spokesman for her family told the Otago Daily Times it was 'ridiculous' cyclists had to use helmets while e-scooter riders did not.

'She would have been a lot less hurt,' the man said.

The police investigation into the crash was continuing.

Johnston said there was no legal requirement for the rider of an e-scooter to wear a helmet.

That was the same for riders of most other small mobility devices including skateboards, rollerblades and hoverboards.

The Ministry of Transport was also developing a new road safety strategy, which would 'outline New Zealand's road safety vision and priorities for the next 10 years', Johnston said.

Consultation on the draft strategy was due to begin in April.

In October 2018, the California-based company launched 600 e-scooters in Auckland and 400 in Christchurch. More have been released in Hutt Valley and Dunedin since then.