Safety issues keep ban on e-scooters
Lime e-scooters will be off Auckland streets for at least another 24 hours while the council waits to receive further safety information from the firm.
Hundreds of scooters were removed from the streets of Auckland and Dunedin on Friday due to safety concerns over a software glitch. It caused e-scooter wheels to randomly lock up, leaving some riders with broken bones and smashed faces after they were thrown off mid-ride.
The malfunction caused 155 ‘‘irregular braking incidents’’ nationwide, according to Lime’s figures. Thirty people – 19 in Auckland – have submitted injury claims as a result.
Auckland Council suspended Lime’s operating licence on Friday and its entire e-scooter fleet was returned to Lime’s depot. Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton said Lime’s safety standards weren’t up to scratch. ‘‘While we appreciate the amenity that e-scooters offer as an innovative transport solution, safety is not negotiable.’’
Yesterday, Kimpton said the council had asked Lime for further information over safety issues, ‘‘and have suspended their licence until such time as we are comfortable with their response’’.
‘‘We are expecting to hear back from them early this week and will then need to consider this information before making any further decisions. We expect to make those decisions within 24 hours of receiving their update.
‘‘In the meantime, we are continuing to receive public feedback. We received close to 5000 emails by this morning. The feedback is very supportive of the e-scooters but we have also had a lot of support for our decision to suspend the licence while we seek reassurances that this particular type of scooter is safe.’’
Lime told Stuff on Saturday the bug had already been fixed.
‘‘That update has eliminated [the glitch] and will reduce the number of incidents,’’ said Mitchell Price, Lime’s director of government affairs and strategy.
He said engineers then ‘‘triple checked’’ every machine.
Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew Wilson condemned Lime’s handling of the situation.
‘‘[They] are effectively dumping them into the marketplace and trying to sort the mess out later. This is a totally unacceptable way of introducing new transport technology.’’
He said the scooters should remain banned until council and Lime could come up with a credible plan for their use. ‘‘Our cities need to be redesigned to cope with e-scooters, at [Lime’s] expense. A delay ... isn’t going to kill anyone.’’
Lime’s return to Auckland streets is based on the Californian-based startup agreeing to a list of conditions.
It will be required to deliver a safety report every 48 hours.
It had also been asked to meet weekly with council staff to discuss any incidents and the company’s response to those.
The council would also appoint an independent reviewer, who would have access to Lime’s operations and data.
Lime said it had agreed to the council’s conditions.