2 May 2019

Auckland Council quadruples e-scooter provider fees

From Checkpoint, 5:53 pm on 2 May 2019

Auckland Council is quadrupling the fees that e-scooter providers pay to operate in the city.

The council is preparing to launch its second trial of e-scooters, following a turbulent run with the US-based company Lime.

The company's vehicles were temporarily suspended in Auckland and Dunedin after a braking glitch emerged with 30 people injured as a result, from around 150 incidents.

In Auckland, e-scooter company Wave also rolled out in the city in recent months.

There are currently 1700 Lime and Wave scooters on Auckland streets - that will increase to 1875 scooters during the next trial, to be operated by three companies.

It has not yet been revealed which three companies will be granted the licences.

The council is bringing in stricter reporting conditions for companies this time around, as well as controls over how the scooters are spread across the city, and the fees associated with them.

Auckland Council license and regulatory compliance manager Craig Hobbs said the council would be charging three operators a total of more than $46,000 over the next six months.

"It's probably not where we would like it to be, but it's about quadruple what we have been currently and we'll now be charging on a per scooter basis."

Mr Hobbs said different fees would apply depending on where the scooters were - inner city, fringe and outer suburbs.

There will be limits on the number of scooters that can be in each zone - with the aim to keep the number of scooters in the city centre to 900.

If companies did not operate in the areas their license applied to, they would be fined, Mr Hobbs said.

There would also be a $371 fine if companies did not remove scooters if they were dumped or incorrectly parked - for example blocking footpaths - for more than three hours.

Mr Hobbs said the new rules did not require helmets or specify where riders could go, as those required law changes to be made by central government.

The final details of the e-scooter trial, including the three successful companies who will be taking part, are expected to be announced next week.