Are e-scooters legally motor vehicles and not for use on footpaths?

Friday, 30 November 2018

Lime e-scooters could roll out in Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown.

E-scooters are legally still motor vehicles, which means they technically cannot be used on footpaths, a pedestrian advocate has found.

According to the Land Transport Act 1998 if a vehicle has a maximum power output not exceeding 300W, NZTA can issue a notice in the New Zealand Gazette, the official newspaper of the government, to declare that the vehicle or type of vehicle is not a motor vehicle.

It then has to be presented to the House of Representatives within 16 sitting days.

Co-convenor of the Dunedin Pedestrian Action Network Lynley Hood found NZTA had issued a notice in the Gazette on September 18, a month before Lime arrived this year, but failed to meet its deadline to present this to the House of Representatives, which according to this year's sitting programme was November 9.

* New electric scooters allowed on footpath and road, but not cycle lanes

An advocate said the entire process of legalising e-scooters was 'rushed through in a reckless and ignorant manner'.

* E-scooter regulations 'pretty vague': AA backs push for 10kmh speed limit**

On Friday, the Bills Office at parliament confirmed the House of Representatives has still not received this notice from NZTA.

It matters because of where it means you're allowed to ride them.

In January this response by the New Zealand Transport Agency under the Official Information Act found an 'electric scooter would be considered to be a motor vehicle and would need to be registered' and motor vehicles cannot be used on footpaths.

But since then the NZTA website has include electric scooters as a low-powered vehicle.

Oops, a slip-up means Limes may still be counted as motor vehicles.

Hood said the entire process of legalising e-scooters was 'rushed through in a reckless and ignorant manner'.

'E-scooters are fast and unstable. E-scooter riders frequently weave recklessly through pedestrians. Pedestrians with poor hearing and eyesight can easily step straight into the path of an oncoming scooter. Teenage pedestrians wearing headphones are just as vulnerable,' Hood said.

'It's hypocritical for the government to say it supports active transport, while at the same time putting pedestrians at risk. If the government really cared about active transport, it would prioritise pedestrian safety.'

NZTA has been contacted for comment.

It has said motor vehicles cannot be operated on the footpath. But according to Auckland Transport, electric scooters cannot be used in cycle lanes, either.

So far American e-scooter company Lime has completed 500,000 scooter rides and 150,000 active unique riders in just over a month.

Lime Launcher Hank Rowe said the company would expand its services to a number of communities across the country.

'We have received numerous requests for more scooter pilots to be launched and we are in conversation with a number of cities discussing how Lime can benefit their communities,' Rowe said.

There were 67 ACC claims from injuries that were e-scooter-related since Lime, 44 in Auckland, 22 in Christchurch in the first two weeks of Lime's introduction.

Auckland Council wants to reduce the speed limit of e-scooters to 10kmh on the city's footpaths and spent about $10,000 on posters, bus stop signs and social media posts as part of its Scoot Safe campaign.

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