Brakes go on e-scooters
Speed limit imposed in parts of Auckland as home-grown startup added to second trial
Auckland Council is putting the brakes on electric scooters by imposing a 15km/h speed limit in parts of the city. In a related move, the council is adding another e-scooter operator to its second trial, with 175 additional machines.
Newcomer Flamingo will join Lime, which has been operating in Auckland since October 2018, and Wave which launched its first e-scooters in March. Flamingo is a home-grown startup. The trial runs until October 31, 2019.
The following areas will be “geofenced”,
the council says — a reference to a technology that can automatically slow a scooter when GPS senses it is in a certain area. Riders will notice scooters slow to 15km/h when entering or starting their journey in one of the slow-speed zones.
Meanwhile, new ACC stats show nearly 2000 e-scooter injury claims have been made since October, costing taxpayers nearly $1.5m nationwide. There have been 1964 e-scooter related claims made, costing the agency $1,458,133. A majority — 932 claims, costing $812,882 — were made in Auckland.
Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison said AT and the council had made safety a priority of the second trial. “While we have little influence right now on the rules for where e-scooters can be ridden, how fast they can go and wearing of helmets, we have done as much as we can to promote public safety.
“We will continue to work with operators to incentivise safe rider behaviour; we will monitor compliance with the licence conditions, especially around maintenance, responsible parking and incident management; and we will contribute what we learn to safety improvements at a national level.”
A new code of practice for operators includes more stringent requirements on safety and risk management, incident reporting and investigation, and requirements to report on safety performance on a monthly basis.
There is also a requirement for detailed plans for regular maintenance and weekly maintenance checks, and changes made to the removal of non-compliantly parked scooters, which must be removed by the operator within three hours of being reported.
Lime NZ public affairs manager Lauren Mentjox said safety was of paramount importance to the company. “But unfortunately, like all forms of transportation, there is a risk that we work to mitigate but cannot entirely eliminate,” she said.
“Data shows scooters are a safe form of transportation, comparable to or safer than bicycles.”