Lime time here for Dunedin
DUNEDIN has officially joined the Lime scooter craze as 300 escooters hit the streets this morning.
From today, Dunedin will join Auckland, Christchurch and Hutt City as part of the United States company’s New Zealand fleet.
In the six weeks after the New Zealand service became available last year, more than 500,000 trips were taken by 150,000 different riders, according to figures released by the company.
There were also nearly 300 ACC claims for injuries sustained while using the scooters in the same period.
Unlike in Christchurch and Auckland, Lime would not be paying a fee to operate in the city, as it did not require a permit.
Lime city launcher Matt McNeill said safety was a key concern for the company and it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dunedin City Council which focused on safety and customer service. A request by the Otago Daily
for a copy of the agreement was refused by the council yesterday.
About 300 scooters would be available from 11am today and the company would review whether more were needed, Mr McNeill said.
The company has hired about 30 employees, both fulltime and parttime, to run the service in the city.
At first the company would focus on the central city, tertiary precinct and areas such as the city’s beaches.
A council spokeswoman said it was not planning on restrict ing the use of the scooters in the city and would work collaboratively with the company.
The council had also discussed the launch of the service with Dunedin police.