Auckland Council quadruples fees for e-scooter companies

Friday, 3 May 2019

There will be a maximum of 1875 scooters licensed to operate, across the three tiers, during this trial.

Auckland Council will quadruple its fees for e-scooter companies as it kicks off its second trial, following a bumpy ride with California-based Lime.

Lime's operating licence was suspended by Auckland and Dunedin councils in February because of a software glitch in its e-scooter fleet that caused sudden and unexpected braking mid-ride.

Lime's figures showed the glitch caused 155 'irregular braking incidents' across the country, resulting in 30 injuries – 19 of which were in Auckland. Several Auckland riders reported broken bones and smashed faces over summer.

Auckland Council licensing and regulatory compliance general manager Craig Hobbs said fees for e-scooter providers had quadrupled in its second trial as they would be considered 'oversized vendors'.

* Electric scooter company Lime adds step to cut down on drunk riding

* Lime admits to e-scooter fault which locks up wheels**

Hobbs said during the first trial Lime was charged operators fees similar to those we might charge a coffee cart vendor or a business with a few outdoor dining tables and chairs occupying the footpath.

'We felt that this fee structure didn't really reflect the amount of public space an e-scooter ride share operation takes up, so have this time chosen to use the 'oversize vendor' category in our fee schedule.

'As a result, operators will pay more for their licences. These fees go back into the council's licence and regulatory compliance budget and therefore cover the costs of processing and monitoring licence compliance,' Hobbs said.

Hobbs said five licence applications were received but just three had been chosen for the trial. The operators and how much they would be charged would be announced next week, he said.

Auckland Council licencing and regulatory compliance general manager Craig Hobbs says five licence applications were received but just three had been chosen for the second trial.

There will be a maximum of 1875 scooters licensed to operate, across the three tiers, during this trial. The tiers are inner city, outer city and outer suburbs.

E-scooter operators will be charged $35.50 per scooter every six months for operating within the inner city.

For the outer city, they will be charged $21.50 and $5 for outer suburbs, every six months.

Previously Lime's licence fee was paying a mobile vendor rental fee of about $1600 for the inner city, $1000 for outer city and $276 for outer suburbs from October 2018 to January 2019.

Under the council's new code of practice the e-scooter companies will have to hold public liability insurance of at least $1 million and be required to report incidents, investigations and corrective actions in Auckland and around the country on a weekly basis.

Operators will also have to give the council quarterly reports of reported incidents and safety performance data and identification of how this is informing improved safety performance.

Hobbs said the new code of practice had more stringent requirements on safety and risk management, incident reporting and investigation, and requirements to report on safety performance on a monthly basis.

'We also require detailed plans for regular maintenance and weekly maintenance checks.

'Slow speed zones, via geo-fencing, are also encouraged and the council was heartened to see that all applicants voluntarily offered to introduce such zones,' Hobbs said.