E-scooter operators Lime and Flamingo will hold licences to provide rental e-scooters on Auckland’s streets for a two-year period, the city’s council has announced.
An allocation of 3000 scooters across the city will be split between the two operators from November 4 — with 1800 in and near the city centre, and 1200 in suburban areas.
It comes after the license for provider Beam was cancelled in August after the company was found to have allegedly exceeded its permitted fleet size by up to 40%.
Auckland Council manager of licensing and environmental health Mervyn Chetty said the providers “demonstrated a commitment to safety initiatives and reducing nuisance”.
“Their applications represented the best offering for Aucklanders, with both committing to a range of initiatives to support public transport connections, improved parking and safer riding,” he said in a media release.
“Having just two operators allows riders to easily find a device with their preferred provider, as well as allowing us to monitor and work with providers more closely.”
The council also said it would make changes to its rental micromobility code of practice, which would “better manage operator compliance and influence user behaviour”.
It included requiring faster response times to fix non-compliant parking and toppled scooters, reduced from 90 to 75 minutes in the city centre and the city fringe.
The council also said it would no longer license rental e-bike operators from November 4. Lime and Beam had both previously rented e-bikes for periods in parts of Auckland.
“Previous e-bike licences saw a low number of trips, with operators having removed all rental e-bike devices from the streets,” a council spokesperson said.
“Operators have committed to work with Auckland Council and Auckland Transport to develop a strategy to successfully bring rental e-bikes back to Tāmaki Makaurau.”
