WARWICK SMITH/Stuff
Palmerston North is the newest metropolis to grant e-scooter licences to micromobility firms Beam, Lime, and Flamingo.
Nelson may be the next vacation spot for e-scooters in New Zealand, with the Nelson City Council inviting an organization to place the concept to the council.
In current years, councils in New Zealand’s main cities have been granting licences for shared e-scooters and e-bikes, with the pattern starting to maneuver in the direction of provincial centres.
Most lately in October, the Palmerston North City Council granted licences to Lime, Beam and Flamingo for 600 e-scooters to turn into out there for rent.
At a Nelson City Council infrastructure committee assembly final Thursday, Beam enlargement supervisor Frederick Conquer put ahead a presentation about the opportunity of bringing micromobility to Nelson.
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Conquer stated Beam had been invited to talk on the committee’s public discussion board by the council, following “extensive consultation” with staff.
This included a formal approach to council to look at a shared micromobility scheme, primarily involving shared e-scooters but also including e-bikes.
The introduction of e-scooters could also prompt a change to council’s Parking and Vehicle bylaw, which currently prohibits the use of e-scooters on footpaths in certain areas.
Conquer said introducing an e-scooter system would help to both improve the vitality of Nelson’s city centre, as well as providing an option for more sustainable transport.
He said safety was also a major focus for Beam. Along with its vehicles requiring helmets to operate, and in-app safety training as a requirement for riders, the e-scooters had internal controls to regulate their speed in certain areas.
Over the past two years (from October 2018 to January 2021), ACC claims from e-scooters totalled just under $15 million.
STACY SQUIRES/STUFF
The first of e-scooter operator Neuron Mobility’s distinctive safety orange e-scooters will be on Christchurch streets from October 1, 2021.
Councillor Matt Lawrey asked whether e-scooter hire schemes resulted in fewer vehicle movements in the cities which had adopted them.
Conquer said while he did not have detailed figures, it amounted to “an extensive amount of trips”, which may be expanded on in a report back to council.
Lawrey also asked whether e-scooter hire would continue to be viable as they became more accessible to the private sector.
Conquer said shared e-scooters tended to be “a pathway to micromobility” – getting people who hadn’t been on a bike or scooter for a long time back into active transport.
“We generally find they then tend to go out and buy their own e-scooter or e-bike which helps to build a stronger cycling and scooter culture for the city.
“But people still use [shared e-scooters] – not everyone brings their bike or scooter into the city, or they might have a group of people with them, so we find it’s generally building a stronger system.”
Councillor Yvonne Bowater said she was nervous about allowing e-scooters to be used in areas such as the shared pathway into Nelson.
Conquer said those issues could be addressed by the use of power and speed limitations on e-scooters and bikes.
“[In those areas] we would look to apply a ‘slow zone’, when the vehicle’s GPS picks it up coming into those areas, they automatically slow down to 12-15kmh.”