Auckland Council and Auckland Transport have selected three operators to participate in Auckland’s second e-scooter trial.
Auckland Council General Manager Licensing and Regulatory Compliance Craig Hobbs says five licence applications were received and three have been chosen to be part of the trial.
“We have chosen three ‘preferred’ operators and have notified them that their applications were successful. We are now in the final discussions with the operators before we grant the licences,” he says.
Each successful operator has received a letter confirming their application, their e-scooter allocation and any additional conditions or initiatives that were proposed in their application. Once accepted by the operator, their new licence will be issued.
“Through their applications, the preferred operators have shown how they will comply with the council and AT’s Trading and Events in Public Places Bylaw and the shared e-scooter code of practice.
“In addition to meeting our requirements by submitting robust applications, they have also offered a range of extra safety and customer-focussed incentives, and connecting Aucklanders to public transport, which we look forward to trialling in the next six months.
“We will make an announcement when the licences are agreed,” says Mr Hobbs.
Further information about the extra initiatives will be provided when the operators are announced.
New code of practice for e-scooter operations
Auckland Transport and Auckland Council have updated the e-scooter share code of practice following Auckland’s first e-scooter trial. Read the new code here.
Mr Hobbs says the new code is informed by what the council and AT have learned during the first trial.
“The new code of practice includes 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,” says Mr Hobbs.
Rules for using e-scooters are set by NZTA under national road user rules and cannot be regulated by local councils. E-scooters can be ridden on the footpath, on the road and on separated cycleways. There are no regulations in place for wearing helmets while riding e-scooters.
Changes have also been made to the removal of non-compliantly parked scooters, these must be removed by the operator within three hours of being reported (operators previously had 12 hours to remove reported abandoned scooters).
Fees to increase
Auckland Council and Auckland Transport issue mobile trading licences under their respective Trading and Events in Public Places bylaws (2015).
Licence fees are calculated from a set fee structure, with premium fees applied to inner city (tier 1) licences.
The way that operators are being charged has changed. These operators will be treated as ‘oversize vendors’ and fees are calculated based on two scooters occupying one square metre of footpath. Fees are pro-rated over the duration of the licence.
| Tier one (inner city): | $35.50 per scooter per six months |
| Tier two (outer city): | $21.50 per scooter per six months |
| Tier three (outer suburbs): | $5 per scooter per six months |
Scooter allocation
Applicants were asked to nominate the number of e-scooters they wished to deploy in each of the tiers. When considering the licence applications, the council and AT have allocated limited numbers to each operator. There will be a maximum of 1875 scooters licenced to operate, across the three tiers, during this trial. See a map of the tiers here.
