Auckland Council has selected two providers to receive new rental micromobility licences in the city.
Of the seven licence applications received by the Council, the chosen providers are current operator, Lime and the New Zealand-owned, Flamingo. Both will be licensed for a two-year period from 4 November 2024.
Council’s Manager of Licensing and Environmental Health, Mervyn Chetty says the council received a number of strong applications, with the chosen providers demonstrating a commitment to safety initiatives and reducing nuisance.
“Both Lime and Flamingo have a history of operating in Auckland and around New Zealand. 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,” said Mr Chetty.
“We look forward to continuing our relationship with Lime and welcoming back Flamingo, which currently operates in a number of New Zealand cities and has been licenced in Auckland previously.”
The current e-scooter allocation in Auckland is 3,000 in total, with 900 in tier 1 (city centre), 900 in tier 2 (city fringe) and 1,200 in tier 3 (suburban). This allocation will remain the same from November 4, but with the allocation split across the two providers.
“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,” says Mr Chetty.
Lime and Flamingo will each be allowed 900 devices split across tiers 1 and 2. In tier 3, Lime will have 700 devices and Flamingo will have 500.
The Council says it has also identified improvements that can be made to the Rental Micromobility Code of Practice to better manage operator compliance and influence user behaviour.
Changes to the rental micromobility code of practice will include:
- Faster response times required to rectify non-compliant parking, reduced from 90 to 75 minutes in tier 1 (city centre) and tier 2 (city fringe).
- Faster response times to rectify toppled scooters, reduced from 90 to 75 minutes in tiers 1 and 2.
- Strengthened data provisions.
Also from 4 November, the Council will no longer license rental e-bikes. Previous e-bike licences saw a low number of trips, with operators having removed all rental e-bike devices from the streets, it said in a statement.
“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,” the Council said.
