The mayor and Dunedin city councillors have asked for a report on how e-scooters may be regulated and to prioritise what issues, like pedestrian safety, need to be urgently addressed.
Since Lime launched its e-scooters in Dunedin last month, the council has repeatedly said it has no way of regulating the service.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said the council had sought legal advice and questioned the NZ Transport Agency about what could be done to regulate the scooters in the city.
In the short term, there was little the council could do, but staff were exploring what options were available, particularly to ensure the safety of pedestrians, Mr Cull said.
"People have witnessed them zipping in and out of pedestrians on the pavement and we just think, sooner or later, somebody is going to get seriously hurt."
Regulations could include restrictions on where the scooters could be ridden, if they could be used on footpaths, and if their riders needed helmets.
A new bylaw would take at least six months to get through council, though it was still an option.
"If we were to consider a bylaw, we actually have to show there are problems. So, we have to collect evidence and then have to show there are incidents, which is one reason why it takes time."
The council did not want the scooters banned as it believed they were a positive addition to the city.
"This is not just about Lime. There are going to be a number of technologies coming available in the next few years which will be extremely positive.
"We're just frustrated a simple thing like keeping pedestrians safe seems to be beyond our power at the moment."
Mr Cull said he would speak to Wellington Mayor Justin Lester about how the capital was approaching the issue and what tools it used. A report will be presented to a Wellington City Council committee next week recommending the start of a trial up to 18 months long.
Users in Wellington would be heavily restricted about where they could ride. Areas like the city's botanic gardens would be out of bounds as would popular shopping streets such as Lambton Quay, Willis St, Manners St, Courtenay Pl and the Cuba St Mall. - Additional reporting RNZ
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Comments
Patience. A little suffering produces patience. Eventually all attempts to test boundaries are achieved and the only thing left is being sensible.
If only being sensible was the first choice.
Why was this not done before the horse had bolted? Cull you could have used your position as Mayor to stop the roll out by jumping up and down and not wanting them in the town, most people with a few clues knew Limes would cause issues in Dunedin you just need to google them and get an idea. You can't tell me that you or council had no say at the intro of Limes. These were still on trial by Auckland and Christchurch when Dunedin took delivery of them that should have set the alarm bell ringing. Maybe Cull you are spread too thinly with the NZLG and can't handle all tasks possibly not giving Dunedin a Mayor at all , nothing wrong with that at all as long as you, ask for help but be quick because you will not get back in,
There are international examples of how e-scooters do not mix with pedestrians- yet they were welcomed to Dunedin pavements with no regulations or controls. There were international examples of scandals associated with the Compass Food company -yet they were signed up to our Health Board for 15yrs. It's about time decision makers did their Google Search homework before accepting everything that will make our city 'vibrant'. Stop being so impressed with anything and everyone from 'overseas' .
Do the words door, stable, horse or bolted mean anything to you Dave?
How come Wellington Council can control this outfit while DCC says it has no powers?