Lime’s latest report has revealed that nearly 70,000 people have taken e-scooter rides in Dunedin since its launch a year ago.
Lime, the only e-scooter operator in the city, reported that 69,745 people in Dunedin had taken a total of 572,744 e-scooter trips with 1,269,440 kilometres travelled. However, the e-scooter operator did not include the number of serious incidents involving its e-scooters and how much the riders had spent.
Adrian Blair, customer and regulatory services group manager at Dunedin City Council, said their March 2019 survey found that 57% of the respondents supported e-scooter use, 16% were neutral, and 28% were unsupportive – with many concerned about safety, particularly for pedestrians, night use, and the e-scooters’ speed.
“To address some of the concerns, DCC has been trialling a footpath courtesy zone where all users have been asked to observe a voluntary 15kmh speed limit. This applies to e-scooters, skateboards and mobility scooters,” Blair said, as reported by Otago Daily Times.
The council is working on a bylaw to encompass e-scooter operators – which fell under the spotlight due to an anti e-scooter campaign signed by hundreds of people, including the elderly and people with disabilities.
Andy Smith, president of Living Streets, said last year that e-scooters should never have been given the go signal to be available on the streets.
“Because it’s got small wheels, it’s gone under the legislation for children’s bicycles. It’s a nonsense that they should be there. If somebody loses their balance, brakes [don’t work], it could be a death sentence for someone that’s 80 or 90,” he said.
Lauren Mentjox, public affairs manager at Lime New Zealand, acknowledged e-scooter related crashes but offered assurances that Lime is focused on safety.
