E-scooters set to arrive in Taranaki
New Plymouth’s mayor is calling for controversial electric scooters to show up in the city – and they may not be far away.
Blip Scooters, a local Taranaki start-up, has been in discussion with the New Plymouth District Council and is planning to launch in the city within a month or so, co-founder Ahmed Al-jumaily said yesterday. The first thing is safety,’’ he said. ‘‘Because we know if someone gets hurt people won’t be using the product.
‘‘We’re still in discussion with the council to sort out a few minor bits and pieces.’’
Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt are the latest centres to get Lime Scooters this week, following their rollout – and mixed reactions – in Auckland and Christchurch.
Blip use a similar app-based operating system where you can find a blip, pay the fee and then park it anywhere – on a bike rack or another safe place – and ‘lock’ it for the next person through the app.
‘‘That’s the biggest challenge for us is to try and learn from those issues,’’ Al-jumaily, who has co-founded the business with his wife Tima Al-saedy, said.
‘‘We’ll be limiting the speed because it’s a big factor in safety,’’ he said.
‘‘We know Taranaki is a perfect spot for it as we have the Coastal Walkway, nice wide footpaths.
‘‘We did some market research and people just love the idea.’’
They are also planning to branch out into other electric transportation – possibly electric cars and mopeds, under the same market share system where you rent, rather than buy, the transport.
Mayor Neil Holdom used a Lime scooter to go between meetings in the Auckland CBD this week, and is keen to see them replicated in the region, and by a local company rather than an international conglomerate.
The technology could eventually take the place of the family car, he said.
‘‘I think we’re quite a progressive sort of region; we like to adopt these kind of things early.
‘‘They’d be perfect for people getting around town, along the walkway. They’re environmentally friendly; they’re quick and handy.’’
Safety concerns were negligible if people used commonsense, he said.