New e-scooter trial starts April 1

A new shared electric scooter trial starts in Auckland on April 1 and runs to October 31.

The Auckland Council and Auckland Transport (AT) trial builds on one which ends March 31, adding new licence conditions for operators.

The new trial will set requirements for improved incident and maintenance reporting by operators, as well as new fees, AT chief executive Shane Ellison says.

“This week we will be receiving the remaining trip data from the two operators (Lime and Wave) that participated in the first e-scooter trial. By April 12 we will have completed analysing that data and we will be able to confirm how many scooters we believe will be the best number for the city centre and other areas of Auckland,” he says.

“We’re following other cities, such as Portland, Oregon, by holding a second trial with more stringent conditions. E-scooters are proving very popular as a new mode and we are already seeing benefits. They give people more choice for shorter journeys and for the first and last leg of their public transport trips.

“The benefits also need to be balanced with the safety of everyone on our footpaths. It has become clear that there is a need for a national regulatory framework for e-scooters, whether they be a shared service or privately owned,” Ellison says.

“We are increasing our advocacy efforts with central government for the development of regulations for e-scooters and new forms of micro-mobility.

“In the meantime, AT and Auckland Council believe the licences issued under the Street Trading Bylaw enable us, as much as we can, to regulate shared e-scooter services.”

Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton says the two current operators will be issued an interim licence until April 12, when the new trial licence conditions will be finalised.

“The operators will have two days to provide any feedback on the new licence conditions before they are finalised. Once adopted, they will have stringent timelines to meet with the new conditions.

“Other operators are welcome to apply for licences and these will be considered based on the quality and track record of the operator, as well as the number of scooters permitted overall as part of this new trial,” he says.

The first trial evaluation will be completed in coming weeks.