Lime scooters eyeing capital
Wellington looks set to be the next city to get the electric scooter action with Lime in talks with Wellington City Council.
After dual launches in Auckland and Christchurch, the United States-based company wants to bring its electric scooters to the capital
Lime co-founder and vice-president of expansion Caen Contee, in Wellington this week for the Traffic Institute (Trafinz) annual conference, said talks with key stakeholders had been positive.
‘‘We’ve been more than fortunate to see both sides of the table in terms of city officials and corporate leaders who really see this as an opportunity to build something that solves their needs.
‘‘We will only work in cooperation with them but I think it’s not unreasonable that we could have a programme here in the next couple of months,’’ he said.
Lime currently operates in more than 125 markets and had clocked at least 20 million rides over the last 18 months.
The scooters, while popular, have faced their share of backlash with Auckland Council launching an urgent scooter safety probe after a councillor was almost hit.
The Government is also looking at legislation of lowpowered vehicles – the category Lime’s e-scooters fit into.
Contee had been working hard to ensure riders and other road users were kept safe, rolling out a new safety campaign, as well as providing helmets.
‘‘A core part of allowing us to operate requires us to be conscientious and, ultimately, create the most safe programme to enable cities to feel like they’re adopting something that is in its best interest.’’
Despite the controversies, Lime isn’t the only company eyeing the capital, with Onzo also looking to enter the e-market.
Chief growth officer MinKyu Jung confirmed yesterday that following the company’s bicycle trial, Onzo would be looking to introduce its own e-scooters here. Safety was of the utmost importance to the company, given recent negative coverage of some e-scooters.
‘‘I wouldn’t say I’m nervous, I think the risk has been overblown especially when you compare them with traffic accidents.’’
Onzo’s six-month trial ends early next year.